A Final Encore
by Queenbie78
Summary: A Scottish folk singer arrives on the island of Sainte-Marie to play a gig as part of a tour of a lifetime around the Caribbean. Tragically it turns out to be her last ever gig. Featuring the season 7 team plus surprise appearances by old faces.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Welcome to Sainte-Marie

The Sainte-Marie airport minibus pulled up on the main street outside the community centre.

'Honore centre!' shouted the driver in his Caribbean accent, and two passengers got up. One was a white woman in her mid-thirties wearing tight jeans and a sleeveless smock top, who flicked back the long front of her A-line lob as she descended the three steps to the pavement. The other was a young black man in his late twenties or early thirties in a sports vest, denim shorts and trainers, sporting a blonde, curly, 70s style afro and dark sunglasses.

The driver opened the luggage compartment and lifted out a small brown suitcase, followed by a guitar case.

'You here to entertain us?' he asked the woman, handing her the instrument.

'Yes, I'm touring the Caribbean and I'm doing a gig here tonight…over there I think!' she answered, pointing over at the community centre. Her accent was Scottish.

'How great! We don't get many touring artists coming here!'

'So the centre manager told me when he invited me here. He seemed excited even though I'm just a small time folk singer!'

'You'll find the whole town comes out whenever there's something happening…good or bad!'

'Goodness! So I might get quite a crowd then?'

'I hope so. Good luck!'

'Thank you'

As the woman walked away and took out the map she had printed, the driver turned to the young man.

'It was this one, wasn't it?' he said, picking up a well-used Swiss Gear rucksack.

'Yes, thank you' he replied in a quiet voice.

'Are you local?'

'I have connections'

'Oh well, have a nice stay'

'Thank you'

The driver got back on the bus and drove off.

The woman looked across the road at the closed community centre, looked at the piece of paper in her hand, then approached the young man.

'Excuse me', she said. 'I don't suppose you know where the bar called 'La Kaz' is?'

'Oh now, that rings a bell…it's a while since I was last here'

'OK I suppose I will just have to walk towards what looks like the main recreational area – this way I think? Perhaps I'll see the bar or find someone who knows it'

'Well, I need to find the tourist office to get somewhere to stay so I'll try the same direction!'

'Great, we can go together'

'Here, let me carry that!' The young man took the guitar case from the woman. 'You here to perform?'

'Yes, at the community centre tonight!'

'Great, I'll maybe come along. I have no fixed plans. I'm George, by the way'

'Heather. Nice to meet you.

Heather and George were accosted by dozens of stallholders selling everything imaginable as they approached the very centre of the town.

'Just your size!' a lady selling bandanas said, dangling a bright green one in George's face.

'Um, not today, thank you' he replied, hurrying onwards.

'A good luck charm for your performances?' another seller enquired, trying to sell Heather what looked like a rabbit's foot.

'Maybe some other time!' she smiled, catching up with George.

'Gosh I'd forgotten what a gauntlet this street is!' George remarked 'A lot of the tourists hate it!'

'They're certainly pushy, but I guess they need to make a living' she remarked.

'I guess. Oh, I remember this bar here, Catherine's. Always a favourite…Ah, La Kaz – Catherine's, of course, this is the place you are looking for!'

'Fantastic, I knew it would have to be nearby. Why don't you come over and ask the bar staff where the tourist office is?'

George hesitated before adjusting his sunglasses 'Sure' he decided and followed Heather, seemingly cautiously.

They crossed the road and walked into a small open air bar overlooking the sea, where half a dozen or so locals and visitors were sitting having a meal, or just relaxing and having a drink with friends or colleagues. There was a small bar in the corner and behind the bar stood a middle aged French woman in a bright multi-coloured dress with a yellow wrap on her head over her brown curly hair. There was a sound of clattering dishes coming from the entrance at the far side of the bar where the kitchen must be.

'The email I received said that I should meet none other than the local Mayor in this bar!' Heather told her new companion.

'Wow! You're being wined and dined by the Mayor?!' exclaimed George

'Apparently that's what happens here'

Heather looked around the bar for somebody fitting her schema of a Mayor, or for someone looking out for a visitor with a guitar, but none of the diners or drinkers appeared to be that person.

'Well, I guess I will get myself a drink and wait for the Mayor to appear' she said, putting her luggage down beside a table. At those words the ears of the woman behind the bar pricked up and she came over with a beaming smile on her face.

'Good afternoon, you must be Heather Munro, the singer from Scotland?'

'Yes, that's right. You've been expecting me?'

'Of course. I'm Catherine Bordey. Pleased to meet you'

'Pleased to meet you too, Madame Bordey'

'Catherine, please'

'Catherine. I was told to come here to meet the Mayor. I assume he will be here shortly?'

Catherine's smile faded 'Um…I am the Mayor!' she asserted.

'Oh!' Heather felt very embarrassed at her faux pas and inaccurate schema and began to blush and look down towards the ground 'I'm so sorry…'

'Don't worry, I forgive you. There are not as many women in positions of authority here as there are in Europe but it is changing' Catherine's smile returned.

'That's great'

'Anyway, who's your friend?' Catherine asked, noticing George still standing in the background. He tensed up at the attention.

'Oh, I'm sorry. This is George. We came off the airport bus together' Heather explained.

'Hello George, welcome to Sainte-Marie' said Catherine, shaking his hand.

'A pleasure', smiled the young man, with what appeared to be relief.

'George was looking for the tourist office. Could you give him directions?'

'Certainly, it is just two hundred yards further down the main road, next door to the school'.

'Thank you ma'am. I'll be off to find myself some accommodation'

'You needn't be in a rush. They are open late and I happen to know there are plenty vacancies at the moment. Why don't you both sit down and have a drink and some of my special dish of the day?'

'Wow! You cook and run this place as well as being Mayor?!' Heather exclaimed. 'You must be run off your feet!'

'I am indeed a very busy woman, but thankfully I've got a bit of help in here over the busy summer season'.

George's heart leapt as an attractive young woman of no more than twenty, with long blonde hair in a side pigtail and wearing a short skirt and sandals, came out of the kitchen carrying two plates and placing them in front of a couple sitting at a table overlooking the sea.

'Two more specials please, and two of my special cocktails!' Catherine shouted over to the girl, who attempted to suppress a giggle as she swiftly returned to the kitchen. 'I'll be over again once I've served these customers' she told her guests, indicating a couple that were waiting at the bar.

'Oh gosh, it isn't…' gasped the woman at the bar, looking over at Heather

'You're kidding!' said the man. 'Heather? You're here?'

'Oh…wow…Gemma, Patrick!' stammered Heather.

'You know each other?' enquired Catherine.

'Oh, yes, we're friends. Met in Germany last year' answered Gemma with a smile, as if she was trying to feign pleasure at seeing Heather.

'We were on the Scottish and Irish Folk Festival tour' expanded Patrick.

'So… how have you been?' Heather played along tactfully.

'Great. People in the Caribbean are loving us!' Gemma stated braggingly.

'Good. I've been well received too'

'Well, we were just about to pay our bill and head off for a stroll before rehearsing for our open air gig tomorrow!' Patrick said to wind up the conversation.

'Open air? That should be good. I'm playing in the community centre tonight'

'Maybe we'll come…if we finish on time!' smiled Gemma as Patrick took their receipt and they left the bar.

'OK, well…I guess we should sit down' Heather suggested to George, indicating the table she had claimed.

'Thank you. Friends of yours?' George enquired sceptically.

'Kind of, it's a long story' Heather replied, clearly not wanting to speak about her acquaintances. 'So what brings you to Sainte-Marie?'

'Um…a bit of family research. My maternal grandparents came from this island and I remember coming over when I was little. I was also hoping to research the family tree and meet some of the locals'

'Wow, sounds exciting. My family have always been from the UK as far as I know'

'So are you touring the whole of the Caribbean playing gigs?'

'Just the east side. I would go further if funds allowed'

'And you are travelling alone?'

'For just now. My husband will be joining me on Antigua next week – he couldn't leave at the same time as me due to work commitments. He's a psychiatrist and had appointments and a conference to attend back in Edinburgh'

The girl returned from the kitchen with a tray containing two plates of what looked like curry and two glasses containing liquid as colourful as Catherine's dress.

'I hope you like hot food?' the girl asked setting the plates down.

'I do like curry!' replied Heather

'Or you do now!' laughed George playfully, making the girl smile.

'Let me know if you need anything' the girl walked away slowly, glancing around as Heather and George picked up their forks and took a mouthful of their food.

'Aah!' Heather coughed, swishing what felt like a dozen raw chillies around her mouth, trying not to spit out the food. She gave up and used a napkin for the job, taking a big swig of her drink in an attempt to cool her tongue.

'Oh my!' George, who was used to hot food and expected to be able to handle it better than Heather also gave up. The girl let out the laughter she had been suppressing.

'Do you not like my curry?!' Catherine exclaimed, walking back over with a mock serious face.

'I…yes it's lovely…if you're used to this amount of spice!' Heather stuttered.

'Don't worry, she does this to every newcomer to the island! It's a token of welcome' the girl assured the guests. 'When I tried it I almost went through the roof!' They all laughed and the guests were given some more palatable snacks and a large glass of water each.

When Heather and George had finished eating and drinking, Catherine came over, taking off her apron.

'OK Heather, I will take you over to the community centre to set up now. I've got the key. I'll leave you in the capable hands of my girl Friday here, George, and when I get back she will finish her shift, so perhaps she will walk you to the tourist office? It's on her way home?'

'Sure' said the girl. George could not believe his luck.

'Well, it was good to meet you Heather. Good luck with your gig tonight. Perhaps I'll see you later?'

'Thank you. I hope you can come'. Heather gathered her belongings and followed Catherine.

'Can I get you another drink?' the girl asked George.

'Um…yes please. Another one of those rainbow cocktails would be nice.

The girl mixed George's drink and came over to sit beside him since things had quietened down.

'Are you here for long?' she asked him.

'Just for a week. I'm George by the way'

'I'm Siobhan' she answered, shaking his hand.

'Are you English?'

'Yes, I'm from London. I moved over here with my dad last year and stayed for a few months before returning home for University. I'm now back for the summer'

'Wow! What brought you all the way over here?'

'My dad's a Detective Inspector. He got transferred here after working with his predecessor on a murder case that brought him to London. They did a swap as his predecessor had a love interest back there!'

'Goodness! And how do you like it here?'

'Fine, it's very beautiful. I'm looking forward to having a few days off next week and enjoying the beaches. Anyway, where are you from?'

'I'm from Lucon in the west of France but some of my family lived here before it ceased to belong to the French'

'Oh dear!' said Siobhan, knowing it was the British that took it over. They changed the subject and continued talking for half an hour, with short breaks when Siobhan had to deal with other customers.

Catherine and Heather walked up the steps to the community centre, and Catherine was surprised to see that the door had already been opened.

'Looks like I didn't need my key after all!' she exclaimed, opening the door for Heather.

The community centre was a small hall with a short corridor. To the right was the main hall with a stage at the back and seating set out for around 100 people. To the left was a kitchen and bar area.

'Good evening Herve' Catherine said, greeting a tall, slim, middle aged man in a suit.

'Bonsoir Catherine' the man replied. 'Is this the singer we've all been looking forward to hearing?'

'Yes, this is Heather Munro, all the way from Scotland'

'Pleased to meet you lassie!' Herve smiled. 'I'm Herve Picard, manager of the community centre and head of arts and entertainment on the community council' he said, shaking Heather's hand.

'Of course, we spoke via email. Nice to meet you in person' Heather replied.

'Well, I'll show you where you can tune up and get changed while we wait for the sound crew to arrive. There's a bar through here if you fancy a drink' Herve indicated the small bar room to their left. 'This is Claire, our barmaid and centre assistant. If there's anything you need please let Claire know' Herve indicated a young woman who was washing glasses in preparation for the audience arriving.

'Hello Claire, I wouldn't mind a glass of water if you have a minute'

'Sure, no problem' Claire took a bottle of water from the cool cabinet. 'Would you like ice?'

'Yes please, it is still very hot!'

'You get used to it!' Claire smiled as she put ice in a plastic cup.

'Thank you very much' Heather took her drink and followed Herve out of the bar.

'Well, I'll be getting back to my bar' said Catherine. 'Hopefully I'll catch the tail end of your concert after I close but I hope it goes well anyway'.

'Thank you Catherine, and thank you for supper and your hospitality'

'It's what the mayor does!' she laughed and left the hall. Herve showed Heather to the backstage dressing area and she began to tune up while Herve returned to the main hall to oversee the placing of the final chairs.

George and Siobhan were getting on like a house on fire. As they left the tourist office and headed towards the nearby hostel where George was to stay he said to her

'Thank you for helping me today'

'It was no problem at all' she replied.

'You know I was thinking about going along to Heather's concert tonight. Would you like to come? I don't know if you like folk music?'

'Yeah, that would be fun. Just one thing, though, my dad will probably want to come too!'

'Need a chaperone do we?'

'Not really, he just likes the folk music. He's Irish and there are a lot of similarities between Scottish and Irish folk music'

'Oh well, in that case, I look forward to meeting him'

'Great. See you at the community centre later'

'Bye'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Concert

By quarter to eight the community centre was bustling with people and more than three quarters of the seats were taken. Herve was virtually running around checking that everything was in order; making sure there were some extra chairs in the store room that could be brought out at the last minute if needed, making sure that the sound engineer was ready and had a set list to work with, asked the ticket sellers how many had been sold so far, then finished up helping Claire deal with the increasing number of orders behind the bar.

At a table in the middle of the room sat Siobhan and her father, Detective Inspector Jack Mooney.

'So how did you get talking to this young man?' Jack asked his daughter.

'He arrived at Catherine's straight from the airport with tonight's singer and I was left to entertain him while Catherine brought Heather here' she explained.

'Well just remember he is a tourist and will only be here for two weeks. Sounds like he's a good bit older than you too. Don't get your hopes up…'

'Dad!'

'Just saying!'

'Anyway, who are you looking for?' Siobhan asked, noticing her dad was watching all the scores of people coming in the door.

'Nobody in particular, pet. When you're in the police you can't help people watching, I'm used to reading people and anticipating their moves'

'I see…' she said with a puzzled look'

'For example, the young lady over there was looking nervously round the room before joining the man there. That tells me they're not meant to be seen together!'

'Clever!'

'That community centre manager, Herve I think his name is, he seems really tense this evening, more than you'd expect for someone experienced in organising events like this. He's either sold too many tickets or he has a fancy for the singer'

'Is he a womaniser?'

'I don't know, I haven't really spoken to him. Then there's the young man that's just come in. Looking all around him, very nervous and lost, touching his hair, a bit vain maybe? Or perhaps he's meeting someone, a first date maybe, not sure if she's here yet…'

'George!' called Siobhan, and the same young man her father was speaking about smiled and made his way over to their table. Jack swallowed and prayed George had not heard him.

'Hello again!' George greeted Siobhan' 'Good evening Sir' she held out his hand to greet her father.

'Pleased to meet you, George? replied Jack.

'Yes, it's an honour to meet you too Inspector Mooney'

'You can call me Jack, lad!' he said, impressed with George's courtesy. 'Have a seat, the show's about to begin'

A bell was ringing as Herve finished serving his last customer. He checked the shelves and the fridge to make sure there were enough drinks before saying to Claire

'It's time. Can you manage the latecomers?'

'Sure, no problem' Claire answered nervously.

Herve quickly made his way backstage where Heather was standing waiting with her guitar, taking deep breaths to control her nerves. 'Ready?' he asked

'Ready' confirmed Heather.

Herve proceeded to walk on to the stage and thanked everyone for coming. 'As you know we have a special treat tonight. All the way from Scotland, please welcome Heather Munro!' There was enthusiastic Caribbean applause as Heather walked on to the stage.

'Good evening' said Heather when the applause subsided. 'I'm delighted to be here on your beautiful island to entertain you. I will start by singing an old bothy ballad, which is a song sung by farm workers who lived together in very small houses, practically just huts, a few centuries ago. It is in a dialect called Doric which is spoken in the north-east of Scotland. It's called 'Band O' Shearers''

She struck up a chord and began to sing;

 _Summer days and heather bells are blooming on yon high, high hills_

 _There's yella corn in a' the fields, then autumn brings the shearin'…_

Gemma and Patrick appeared at the door to the main hall holding drinks. Patrick whispered to Gemma 'Don't worry, it'll be fine, you'll see. She won't sing it…'

'But she was learning it!' Gemma whispered more loudly with apprehension in her voice 'and she'll announce who it was by…'

'Honestly, you've nothing to worry about. She knows what'll happen if she tells anyone'

'All the same I won't be able to relax until I've heard the whole set and know for sure…'

'OK well let's just try to act normal and go in before she sees us' Patrick ushered Gemma to a table at the back of the room.

There was applause as Heather finished her first song.

'Gosh, she's good!' George quietly remarked to Siobhan and Jack.

'What a voice!' agreed Jack.

'I wish I could sing' sighed Siobhan.

'I tried to teach you some Irish ballads but you weren't interested!' Jack remonstrated and Siobhan playfully slapped him.

'Thank you, and now for a song penned by Scottish singer songwriter Eddie Henderson in the 1980s about the miners' strike' Heather continued. Later in the set Heather announced 'and now for one of my own songs which is about your history'. The audience gasped in anticipation. Herve stood up from his chair at the back of the hall. 'It was inspired by reading about your former Prime Minister Jeanne Richard and the adversities she faced during her time of office at the hand of Jacques Etienne and his party, and celebrates her vision for a better future for the island' She began to sing

 _Welcome to paradise, we hope that your stay is nice_

 _That is what they call this land, in virtue of the sun and sea and sand_

 _But if this was paradise…_

The audience were transfixed and didn't notice the couple at the back table whispering and Herve getting up and walking out of the room looking very agitated. He spoke a few words to Claire, who gave him a puzzled look, before walking outside for some fresh air. The song was well received by the remainder of the audience as was the rest of the set. Heather honoured them with not one but two encores before Herve announced that the show was well and truly over. By this time it was 11pm but since it was Saturday night people were not in a hurry to get home. Several people stayed for one more drink before making their way home or to a bar, and Heather was constantly surrounded by people thanking her for a lovely evening and complimenting her on her fantastic voice and song writing ability. She sold around 30 CDs and even more people signed up to her mailing list.

By midnight there were only a dozen people left in the hall, including George and the Mooneys. By this time Jack was in the middle of a long conversation with Heather about Scottish and Irish traditions and they each shared two or three songs the other hadn't heard before. George and Siobhan were chatting away about places they had visited and the different kinds of music they liked. Herve and the centre staff were clearing away the tables and chairs that had been vacated and Claire was busy collecting empty glasses and returning them to the bar for washing. Gemma and Patrick were still sitting in their corner having yet another drink.

'Well, I think it's time Cinderella and I got home!' decided Jack.

'Aww, already?!' moaned Siobhan.

'What do you mean already? It's after midnight and you're helping Catherine with Sunday lunches tomorrow!'

'I guess' she decided and regretfully got up and put on her cardigan. 'Are you going back to the hostel now George?'

'I think I'll have one more drink first, the door is open 'til one!'

'Why not, you're on holiday!' agreed Jack.

'Well, it's been a pleasure spending the evening with you both' said George. 'I hope we will meet again?'

'Sure. I'll be in Catherine's again from ten 'til six tomorrow so feel free to come by!' suggested Siobhan.

'OK. Probably see you tomorrow then!' he agreed and they all said goodnight.

'Right, last orders at the bar!' announced Herve. 'Time to lock the doors' he added to Claire and she bolted the front door, preventing anyone coming in. She would have to leave the bar to open the latch to let the last remaining staff and audience members out. Gemma rushed to the bar to get one last drink for her and Patrick, while Patrick himself took the opportunity to speak to Heather now that she was alone packing up her guitar on the stage.

'Psst Heather!' he said quietly, and she looked around apprehensively.

'What do you want?' she said without smiling.

'Just a promise that you haven't told anyone…'

'I told you before what you need to do. It's not my place…'

'Cos you know what'll happen if you have!'

'Good night Patrick!' she almost shouted going backstage. Patrick shook his head and almost staggered back to his table to enjoy his final drink. 'And what are you looking at?' he yelled at George, who had been watching him.

'Just making sure my new friend was being treated with respect!' he answered boldly.

'Bah!' Patrick staggered off, not sober enough to continue an argument.

'OK, time ladies and gentlemen please!' shouted Herve, fading the light switch twice as an indication that it was time to drink up. George went through to the bar to return his glass before leaving. 'Is it my imagination or did the background music just get louder?' he remarked to Claire.

'Can't say I noticed. Perhaps it just seems like it because there are less people around talking?' she suggested.

'Hmm, maybe!' he thought.

'Hey, where are you going? That's the stage door!' Claire shouted at Patrick who was about to enter.

'Sorry lass, looking for the gents!' he turned round, clearly very drunk.

'Over there!' Claire pointed at the correct door.

'Oh…thank you!' he staggered in the right direction.

'I don't envy you this job! Do you often get people in a state like that?' George asked Claire.

'We get one every couple of weeks, more in the summer, usually tourists!'

'Yes, I can imagine!' he laughed.

At that moment Herve came into the bar. 'Claire, go backstage and see if Heather is ready to go!' he ordered.

'Well goodnight' she said to George.

'Goodnight' George replied, returning to the hall to collect his jacket. Only Gemma remained in the hall and he was surprised to see she was wandering around.

'Not as good as our music – you'll see tomorrow at the square!' she said drunkenly to him.

'I've heard worse!' he stated and she shook her head. They were both shaken by a scream coming from the dressing room. They both ran up onto the stage and round the back and were joined by Herve and Patrick who had run in from the stage door. Claire was standing at the dressing room door shaking, tears rolling down her cheeks. The others looked past her and got the fright of their lives when they saw Heather lying lifeless on the floor beside the coffee table, blood dripping from a point on her head.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Friends Reunited

The Honore police station was open at 7:30am on Sunday morning, half an hour earlier than usual as the team had a conference call date. Jack finished connecting all the cables while Officer Dwayne Myers set out four chairs in front of the big screen. Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell was looking in the address book for the relevant number and officer J P Hooper was making tea and coffee for everyone.

'Right, it's time!' announced Jack. 'Got the number Florence?'

'Yes, here we go' the young Detective Sergeant replied. 'zero zero four four…'

Dwayne and J P sat down with their cups as Jack pressed the connect button. Thirty second later a smiling couple appeared on the screen.

'Good afternoon, I mean good morning!' said Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman, hitting his head.

'Hello, good to see you!' said Florence. 'Keeping well?'

'Yes, thank you' Humphrey replied.

'Scatter-brained as ever, chief!' laughed Dwayne.

'Yes, well…' Humphrey looked down and smiled.

'And how are you Martha?' asked Jack.

'Never been better!' the woman sitting beside Humphrey answered with a radiant smile.

'I've never seen you so happy!' remarked Florence 'Life in London agreeing with you?'

'Well, it's…cold, it's…crowded, it's…busy' stuttered Humphrey. 'I had got used to the sun…'

'But…?' smiled J P.

'Ah, a great detective in the making – you've figured us out!'

'Eh?' the others turned to J P with puzzled looks but he just continued smiling and pointed back to the screen to draw their attention to Martha who was holding up her left hand, on which was sitting a big, sparkling diamond ring!'

'Wow, you're…' gasped Florence. Humphrey and Martha both nodded. 'Congratulations!'

'You didn't waste time, did you?!' laughed Dwayne.

'Well, we've both been extremely happy since we've been back together and we just knew it was right!' explained Humphrey.

'Well, that's wonderful, you deserve it' continued Dwayne. 'Too bad I can't give you a hug!'

'Or have a celebratory beer with you!' added Jack.

'So when's the big day?' enquired J P.

'Well, we were thinking about next summer, maybe June or July' said Martha.

'We might even get married on Sainte-Marie!' added Humphrey. 'That's where we met and it would be lovely to have all of you with us on our special day!'

'That would be wonderful!' said Florence and everybody else agreed.

'And if we don't get married over there we will at least have our honeymoon in the Caribbean' said Martha.

'Well, even if you do it that way you'll get a second reception here!' Jack assured them.

'This is such great news!' smiled Dwayne.

'So, how's life back at Scotland Yard?' asked Jack.

'Oh, you know…'

At that instant the clock struck eight and the phone rang.

'Excuse me, sir and ma'am' said J P getting up to answer it.

'Humphrey and Martha – I'm not your boss anymore!' corrected Humphrey as he walked off.

'So what's happening on Sainte-Marie?' enquired Martha.

'You know…same old, same old!' muttered Dwayne.

'There was a concert here last night by a folk singer all the way from Scotland!' Jack informed them. 'I can't believe she came all the way to the Caribbean to perform! She's really good as well!'

'Well there's plenty of that here amongst other things' said Humphrey. 'I do like a live show now and again!'

'Um…sir?' J P addressed Jack with a serious look on his face.

'What's wrong J P?' Jack enquired.

'The singer you were talking about that sang here last night?'

'Heather – yes?'

'She's…dead!'

'Dead!' gasped Jack in shock.

'Eh?' cried everyone else.

'Found lying in the dressing room with a fatal knock to her head' continued J P.

'So this must have happened last night after midnight?!' enquired Jack.

'She was found at 1am by the barmaid'.

'Oh, sorry Humphrey, Martha, we're going to have to cut this call short' Jack suddenly remembered they were still watching from their screen in London.

'No worries, I understand' said Humphrey. 'If you need any help in contacting the singer's family or getting any information you need do get in touch'

'I will, thank you' said Jack. 'We'll talk again soon. Goodbye'

'Goodbye!' added everyone else, rather subdued.

'OK we'd better get to the community centre right away!' said Jack picking up the keys to the Defender. The whole team followed him out and they were soon on their way.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Establishing the Facts

The Honore police team gasped when they saw the body of the singer everyone was talking about the night before. The dressing room was square in shape, about three metres square, with a coffee table in the middle, four chairs at the right hand side and a cupboard on the left. There was a counter with drawers underneath facing you as you walked in the door and there was a kettle and four cups and an empty glass on it. Heather lay on the floor between the table and chairs and her guitar case was at the opposite side of the table, her handbag on the furthest away chair and her jacket on the back of the next one, which had been pushed forward and almost touched her head. A crumpled set list and a small pile of CDs lay on the table along with a crisp packet. The blow to Heather's head was on the left hand side nearest the chair and there was a small pool of drying blood on the floor and a spraying on the table legs.

'I can't believe I was talking to her about songs just eight hours ago!' exclaimed Jack as he knelt down to get a closer look.

'You OK Inspector?' enquired Florence.

'Yes, just a bit of a shock, for everyone I suppose' he assured her. 'Anyway', he said, addressing Herve who had shown them to the dressing room. 'Let's get this straight'. This woman was found dead in this room at 1am by your barmaid?'

'Yes' replied Herve cautiously, watching J P taking photos of the body, and Dwayne beginning to look around the room. 'I called 911 and reported the death and a doctor came an hour later, at two. Confirmed she had died but said she couldn't confirm death had been caused by the injury to the head. She must have tripped on something, her things were left out in such a mess!'

'True. For a sudden death like this a post mortem will be necessary to confirm cause of death' Jack filled him in.

'So, when did you last see the victim alive?' asked Florence.

'Around half past twelve, after she had finished signing CDs and talking to audience members. She packed away her merchandise and came through here to pack up the rest of her things'.

'How did she seem? Was she still in good health or was she anxious?'

'She was fine. There was no cause for concern at that time'

'So she must have died in the half-hour between then and when she was discovered. Did you or anybody who was still here at the time hear her fall or scream?' asked Jack.

'Nobody mentioned it, but she was in the room on her own and the few people who were still here at the time were either in the bar or still in the hall where there was music playing'.

'It must have been a very hard blow to the head to have killed her' remarked Florence.

'Yes, very tragic' said Herve.

'Could you excuse us for a minute?' Jack asked him.

'Sure' said Herve. 'I'll be in the office across the corridor'.

After he had left Jack addressed Florence 'What are you thinking?'

Florence pointed to Heather's face. 'Well, normally when someone suffers a fatal head injury you would expect to see bleeding or fluid coming from the nose or ears?'

'Of course, and there's nothing' sighed Jack. 'And look at this!' He opened the victim's mouth to reveal a brown, withered tongue and scarring on the inside or her cheeks. 'Definitely nothing to do with the blow to the head!'

'And I was just wondering, chief' joined in Dwayne. 'What did she hit her head on? I can't see anything in the room with enough blood on it'

'Very good point Dwayne!' Jack acknowledged. 'There are a lot of things lying about as Herve said, plenty tripping hazards, but she would surely have had to have hit her head on something very big and hard for death to have been caused so quickly. Surely it would be obvious what it was, and there would be more blood, but as you say there is nothing!'

'There is some blood coming from the head, though' pointed out J P, who had photographed the wound. The others had a look at it.

'I can't say for sure, but in my experience this doesn't look like a bad enough bump to cause death' Jack concluded. 'We will have to wait for the post mortem results, but I am inclined to think the state of the victim's mouth tells the true story. J P, can you take a photo of this please?'

'Yes sir' the young officer said, taking the picture while Jack held the mouth open.

'This looks more consistent with poisoning' pointed out Florence.

'My thoughts exactly' agreed Jack.

'So you think she was murdered?' Dwayne stated what was practically the obvious.

'More than likely. Poisoning poorly disguised to look like a tragic accident' Jack agreed. 'Any food or drink lying around?'

'Over here!' J P picked up the water glass that Heather had been given before the start of the show. It had a lipstick stain which indicated Heather had drunk from it, 'Empty but there would be a trace, wouldn't there?'

Jack sniffed the inside of the glass 'Nothing obvious but it could be in there'. He proceeded to sniff the four cups but shook his head. 'No, nothing, but there is a bad smell in the room though. Bag these and send them off to the lab'.

J P put the glass and cups in evidence bags and put them carefully aside while Dwayne kept looking for anything else that could be relevant. Florence picked up the crisp packet and sniffed inside it. 'Nothing unusual about this...smells just like the potato chips you get here'

Jack smelled the packet for himself 'Yes I agree but bag this too anyway'

'Sir!' said Dwayne, pointing to a waste paper bin and gagging. The others went over and saw the vomit in and around the bin.

'Vomiting and nausea are usually the first signs of poisoning' pointed out Jack. 'Right, Dwayne, J P, keep looking in here. In the meantime the body can be released, and Florence, I think we need to go and have another chat with Mr Picard'

'You think she was murdered?! She didn't die from the head injury!?' Herve gasped across his desk at Jack and Florence.

'Well we can't be sure until the post mortem results come back but from what we've seen it doesn't look like it' Jack clarified.

'But who would have done this?!'

'That's what we need to find out. Were there still a lot of people in the centre at the time Mrs Munro would have died?' Jack continued.

'No, I had already asked my barmaid to lock the front door so the only people that would have been here were myself and Claire, the barmaid, the young man that was sitting with you and your daughter during the concert, and a couple from Scotland who seemed to know Mrs Munro'

'Are there any other doors, a stage door perhaps, where anyone else could have got out or in?' asked Florence.

'There is the fire escape at the back of the building but I would have known if it had been opened as it would have set off the alarm' Herve assured them.

'So, the only people who could possibly have done this were the five of you that were here?' Florence continued.

'I suppose so. But as I told you I didn't see or hear anything'

'Do you have CCTV?'

'Not real CCTV. The camera in the corridor is a dummy'

'Well we'll have to speak to all of the people you mentioned. I assume you can easily get in touch with Claire?' asked Jack

'Yes, but I had never met the others before'

'Well, I know where the young man, George, is staying because my daughter walked him there yesterday. Do you know anything about the Scottish couple at all?'

'Only that they're musicians too and playing a gig in the square this afternoon'

'Great, we'll head down there and catch them as they'll probably be setting up. We'll be back to speak to you all straight away so don't go anywhere, OK?'

'OK' agreed Herve, seemingly reluctantly.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Alibis

Three quarters of an hour later, Jack and Florence were back at the community centre with all five suspects, who were seated around two tables in the main hall where the concert had taken place.

'Thank you all for coming' began Jack. 'For those who don't know already, I'm Detective Inspector Jack Mooney and this is Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell. I know last night was very distressing for you all, but as you were the only other people in the community centre at the time of Mrs Heather Munro's death I am sure you will understand it is standard procedure that we ask you some questions'

'Is this going to take long?' asked Patrick, standing up agitatedly. 'We've got a concert to get ready for'.

'This is a murder investigation!' Jack reminded him, looking him sternly in the eye. 'It will take as long as it takes!'

Patrick got the message and sat down again. He and Gemma raised their eyes at each other behind Jack's back and Herve shifted restlessly in his chair. Claire was still in a state of shock and a small tear fell from her eye. George, who seemed more composed, handed her a spare handkerchief.

'Can I start by asking you each your name for the record, if and how you were acquainted with the victim, and where you were between twelve thirty and one this morning?' asked Florence with her notepad in hand. She turned to Herve first.

'Herve Picard' he began. 'I met Mrs Munro in person for the first time last night when Mayor Bordey brought her to the centre to prepare for her concert. I was so busy organising the staff that I didn't get to talk to her much. At the time she…died I had just told Claire to lock up and gone to my office to put the takings and ticket stubs into the safe. I stayed there a while to do a quick count'

'You said you met Mrs Munro _in person_ for the first time last night' pointed out Jack 'Does that mean you had communicated before?'

'She contacted me by email a few months ago asking if she could perform on the island. We communicated this way to organise last night's concert' Herve explained.

'OK' said Florence, writing down this last detail. 'And you?' she looked at Claire less seriously.

'C-Claire Rostant' she began nervously. 'I-I didn't know her at all until Herve introduced me to her before the concert. She ordered water…'

'OK and where were you at the time of death?' Florence gently interrupted.

'Behind the bar, washing the last of the glasses. This man was talking to me' she indicated George.

'That's right, we spoke for a while and would surely have had some idea if the other was guilty' confirmed George.

'OK so who are you for the record?' continued Jack as Florence continued writing.

'George Lambert. I met Heather, Mrs Munro, yesterday when we both got off the airport bus. We formed a brief acquaintance when we ended up eating together at Catherine's bar but that was it. As Claire told you I was in the bar next door at the time of her death'

'OK thank you Mr Lambert' said Florence. And you sir?'

'Patrick Buchanan' answered Patrick. 'My wife and I met Mrs Munro last year on a folk festival tour in Germany. We were on the same bill in several cities so we got to know her a little. I was a bit drunk last night but I think I had just come out of the gents when we heard the young lady scream'

'You heard the victim scream?' enquired Jack.

'No I meant this young lady' he gestured at Claire. 'When she found the victim'

'And finally you, ma'am' continued Florence.

'Gemma Buchanan. Same story as Patrick as to how I knew Mrs Munro. I was still in here at the time of death, enjoying my last drink and posting pictures of our tour on Facebook'

'Tour?' Florence probed.

'We're musicians like Mrs Munro. We are also touring the Caribbean'

'And had you bumped into Heather at all during this tour before yesterday?' asked Jack.

'No, we must have been on different islands'

'Did anyone hear anything suspicious…any screams from the victim? A loud thud when she fell?' asked Florence.

They all shook their heads. 'No' said George 'but I do remember noticing that the background music seemed to get louder at around the time of death!'

'Really? Much louder?'

'I think the volume went up gradually' agreed Claire. 'I didn't really notice it until George pointed it out'

'So where was the music being played from?' Jack asked Herve.

'There's a CD player attached to the sound system' Herve explained.

'OK, sounds like someone didn't want the others to hear something. Who knows where this CD player is and how to work it?'

'Myself, Claire and the sound engineers. But it is quite easy to use so anyone who worked out where it was could have adjusted the volume'

'OK and did any of you see anyone touching it at the time the music got louder?' enquired Florence.

'I didn't notice, too busy on my phone!' smirked Gemma. 'Too drunk to work something like that myself!' Everyone else shook their head.

'May we have a look at it?' asked Florence.

'Of course. I'll show you' said Herve, getting up and walking over to the sound desk. He lifted a panel to reveal a CD deck.

'Does this come out?' asked Jack.

'Yes' said Herve.

'OK in that case we will have to take it and send it to the lab in Guadeloupe. We'll require all your fingerprints too. One of my officers that is working in the dressing room will be out shortly to take them and the CD player'. Excuse me for a minute.

Half an hour later Dwayne and J P had finished taking fingerprints and the CD player had been placed in a large evidence bag.

'OK that will be all for now' concluded Jack, and Patrick and Gemma heaved a quiet sigh of relief. 'But we may wish to ask some more questions during the course of our investigation. You will not be permitted to leave the island until the investigation is concluded.

'We're due to travel on to Guadeloupe on Thursday' said Gemma. 'Will it be over by then?'

'As I said to your husband, Mrs Buchanan, this will take as long as it takes!' Jack told her assertively. She shrugged her shoulders and the five suspects filed out of the community centre.

Jack turned to Florence 'What do you think?'

'Well, Claire and George seemed genuine and co-operative. Herve seemed restless but also co-operated with us. The attitude of the Buchanans seems strange though. Considering they knew the victim they don't seem at all shocked or upset. That looks suspicious'

'I agree. We'll look into them first as our main suspects. J P, Dwayne, did you find anything significant in the dressing room?'

'No Chief, just the victim's drinking bottle in her bag but I don't smell anything in it apart from stale water' Dwayne filled him in.

'You didn't see anything with blood on it that could have been used to inflict the head wound?'

'No sir' J P lowered his head.

'OK, don't worry J P. Let's get back to the station and see what we can find out about the suspects' Jack ushered them out of the building.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Board

When the team arrived back at the Police station they found George waiting outside for them.

'Inspector Mooney, Detective Sergeant Cassell' he began. 'Can I speak to you for a couple of minutes?'

'Yes certainly' Jack replied. 'Unfortunately we don't have an interview room here but my whole team are involved in the investigation so would you be OK with my two other officers here being present working in the background?

'Of course sir'

Jack indicated to George to sit down at the small table in the middle of the room.

'OK what would you like to speak to us about?' Jack began.

'Well, I just wanted to report some suspicious behaviour in two of the other suspects'

'OK which suspects would that be?'

'The Scottish couple, Patrick and Gemma, wasn't it?'

'Yes. What suspicious behaviour would that be?'

'Well, when Heather and I were in Catherine's bar yesterday they approached Heather. Gemma told Catherine that they were friends but I got the impression that was not really the case. I briefly approached the subject of them with Heather but all she said is that it was a long story'.

'OK'

'Then after the concert last night Patrick approached Heather. They talked for a minute or so and it seemed that Heather was annoyed by him'

'Did you hear what they were talking about?' asked Florence.

'Not really, I think he was asking if she had told anyone about something, no idea what, and seemed to be threatening her with something if she had repeated whatever it was'

'OK and did you notice anything else?'

'One more thing. When I returned from the bar just before the victim was discovered, Gemma was in the hall on her own and she was out of her seat, not sitting down typing on her phone as she said'

'OK thank you Mr Lambert, thank you for coming in. That's given us something to go on for now'. Jack concluded. George hesitated as if he was about to tell them something else but seemed to change his mind and headed out of the station.

'Hmm, he does seem genuine and helpful' said Jack after he had left.

'But I couldn't help getting the feeling he wasn't telling us everything' observed Florence.

'You know, I think there is something familiar about him' said Dwayne from the other side of the room 'but I can't think what'.

'You've seen him before?' asked Jack.

'I don't know, maybe. I'll let you know if I remember anything'

'Yes please do Dwayne. OK, let's see what we've got'. And with that Jack took out the famous white board and the team gathered round. At the top he placed a photograph of Heather lying on the floor of the dressing room.

'Right, our victim, Mrs Heather Munro'

'Aged thirty-six' continued Florence. 'From Edinburgh, Scotland, married to Gareth. Scottish folk singer, currently on tour in the Caribbean. Found dead in the community centre dressing room with a blow to the back of the head but examination of the body found the likely cause of death to be poisoning'

'OK, and our suspects' continued Jack, placing a photograph of Patrick underneath. Florence turned the page of her notebook.

'Patrick Buchanan, aged forty. Also a Scottish folk musician from Glasgow, and on tour in the Caribbean. He and his wife met the victim on a festival tour in Germany last year. From what George Lambert has told us he and the victim were not on the best of terms and they had unfriendly words after the concert about something he didn't want her to repeat'

'Right, without having any idea what that something is it will be hard to establish a clear alibi but it is possible there may have been one. OK, next'. He placed a picture of Gemma next to her husband.

'Gemma Buchanan, aged thirty eight' read Florence. 'Another Scottish folk musician, originally from _Cry-an-lar-itch?_ But living in Glasgow. Touring the Caribbean with her husband, same relationship to the victim. Alone in the main hall of the community centre at time of death so she had the opportunity both to change the volume of the music that was playing and to get into the dressing room to commit the murder. Again, motive not clear but there may be something'.

'OK these seem to be our main suspects but we still need to look into the others that were still in the centre at the time. Including the centre manager' Jack stated, pinning a photograph of Herve beside the other suspects. Florence moved to the correct page in her notes.

'Yes, Herve Richard, aged fifty seven. Saint-Marie born and bred, manager of Honore Community Centre. Had email contact with the victim for the purpose of organising last night's concert but only met her in person for the first time yesterday evening. No apparent motive, but he had the opportunity as he was apparently alone in his office at the time of death'.

'OK and next' Jack put up a picture of Claire underneath the other three.

'Claire Rostant, aged twenty-one' read Florence. 'Saint-Marie born and bred. Barmaid at the community centre since the beginning of the year. Not personally acquainted with the victim and again no apparent motive. In the bar at the time of death if corroborated alibi with George Lambert can be depended on. It was Claire who found the body, though, so there may have been a margin of opportunity.

'Yes which takes us on to our final suspect, George Lambert' said Jack.

'Ah yes, aged twenty-eight, from Lucon in France, works as a finance officer at a textile company in his home town. On Sainte-Marie doing family history research. Met the victim for the first time yesterday and had a meal with her at Catherine's. Once again, no clear motive and apparently in the bar at the time of death.

'Alright' Jack went on. 'We have an idea of who had the opportunity and we have still to determine any solid motive. And what about the means?'

'No sign of any object with blood that could have caused the gash in her head' Dwayne stated once again.

'And no obvious trace of poison in either the water glass or bottle we found' added J P.

'OK, we will probably need to go back to the community centre to look into this further' decided Jack, 'But we will wait until we have the post mortem and toxicology reports back so that we know exactly what we are looking for. In the meantime, you two can make a start on the background checks on the suspects while Florence and I will go down to the square on time for Patrick and Gemma's concert ending. I think we need to have a talk with them about the things George has told us'.

'See you later Chief, Serge!' said Dwayne, turning to his computer as his superiors left the building. As soon as they were gone he turned to J P

'I was just thinking…'

'Y-yes?' answered J P cautiously.

'Perhaps I should start up a band! These musicians who come here, everyone loves them!'

'Really? You're musical Dwayne?'

'Well, I used to be the karaoke king at police college nights out!'

'Okay!'

'And, well, I played the triangle in my school orchestra!'

'Now that makes you a star indeed!'

'That's what I thought! I'll have to get practicing again. And find a good looking girl to take the lead and dance'

'Why can you not dance?'

'Yes of course but…you know the crowd like a lady dancer!'

'Well, good luck with your venture!'

'What about you J P? Do you sing or dance?'

'Um…well enough to send the crowds away at closing time!'

'Oh well, perhaps you can set me free from my adoring fans!'

'Sure!'

'Anyway, I suppose…background checks'


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Further Questions

Patrick and Gemma finished their encore and mingled with the audience to sell CDs. As the square emptied and they began to pack up, Gemma looked over and her face fell when she caught sight of Jack and Florence approaching.

'Patrick…' she alerted her husband.

'Oh bollocks!' he cursed under his breath.

'Mr and Mrs Buchanan, may we have a word?' said Jack.

'What about now?' enquired Patrick, who continued to carefully place his guitar into its designer case.

'Some developments in the murder case…I must say, that's a very stylish guitar and case you have?!'

'Yes, gives the perfect sound' he replied business style.

'Must have cost quite a bit?'

'Well, when you're a professional, you know!'

'Whatever. Anyway, shall we sit over there?' Jack indicated one of the tables that had been set up for the audience that afternoon. Patrick and Gemma shrugged and they all went over.

'Well, I'll get to the point' began Jack. 'It has been brought to our attention that the two of you had words with Mrs Munro in Catherine's bar yesterday afternoon. And then, Mr Buchanan, you were heard having another exchange with her just after the concert'

'Yes, so?' queried Gemma.

'And that you were not exactly on the friendliest of terms?'

'Who told you that!' asked Patrick, raising his voice.

'It doesn't matter. It just seems suspicious that Mrs Munro was found dead shortly after an unpleasant discussion with yourself!'

'Oh for goodness sake, we were never really friends with her but that doesn't mean we would kill her. We had been drinking, and anyone who was around at the end of last night will tell you how wasted I was, not exactly sober enough to kill someone!'

'So what was it you were talking to Mrs Munro about?' enquired Florence, giving Patrick a stern, warning look, and also making eye contact with Gemma.

'A song both Heather and I liked to sing' Patrick answered. 'We have never agreed on its origin'

'Really? We were told that Mrs Munro seemed irritated by what you were saying. Why would that be the case? What is it about this song?'

'It's very popular in Scotland and Ireland. Both nations claim it as their own'

'Really, what song is it? I'm Irish in case you hadn't noticed!' exclaimed Jack.

'Um… _The wind that shakes the barley_. My Irish mum taught me it when I was little but Heather said the same about her Scottish father'

'Oh yes, I'm sure it's Irish, but I wouldn't fall out with someone who believed it was Scottish! And certainly not threaten them!'

'Threaten? Where on earth did you hear such a thing?'

'A witness advised us you were threatening Mrs Munro with consequences if she repeated something!'

'There must have been a misunderstanding. I was referring to the possibility of a court ordering researchers to investigate where the song really came from and one country losing the right to include it in their tradition'

'And why would that be such a bad thing?'

'Well, you're not out marketing the music of your nation!'

'True I guess. But there is one more thing' continued Jack. 'A witness tells us you were not sitting typing on your phone when you were alone in the hall, Mrs Buchanan. Lying to the police is a serious offence, you know. Care to tell us what you were really doing?'

'Um…well…you're right' admitted Gemma. 'I was trying to get a look at Heather's set list to find out whether she sang the song before we got there. So that we could put the crowds right on the origin when we did it today!'

'Why didn't you just ask somebody that was at the concert from the beginning?' asked Florence.

'I didn't think people from 'round here would know the song I was talking about'

'So, you didn't touch the CD player on the sound desk while you were up and about?' asked Jack.

'You will see when the forensic analysis comes back that I didn't!' Gemma stated firmly.

'OK, that is all for now. Thank you both for your time' Jack concluded. Patrick and Gemma got up and went back to their tidying-up without any further words to Jack or Florence. The two detectives moved to another table where the Buchanan's could not hear them.

'I don't know about you but I'm not convinced by their story' stated Jack.

'Me neither' agreed Florence.

'From what I know about traditional musicians, they do often have banter about issues like song origins, but that's usually all it is. Why on earth would it cause such tension between them?

'Yes, they often sing each other's songs as well, don't they?'

'Patrick did make one good point there, though. I do recall seeing him walking about quite drunk when I was leaving the centre with Siobhan. It would have been difficult to administer poison to someone in that state as you need to get the concentration right. I think it just about gives him an alibi!'

'Unless he administered it earlier in the evening before becoming drunk. But yes, I'm inclined to suspect his wife a bit more, but then again, they could both be involved'

'True. Let's get back to the station and see how Dwayne and J P have got on with the checks'

Having worked hard for two hours, Dwayne stretched and addressed J P

'You know, I think Darlene could be the singer!'

'Really? She sings?'

'I'm sure she can hold a tune…the audience would fall in love with her personality anyway!'

'Then you could be famous together!'

'That's just what I was thinking!'

At that instant the door opened. 'I hope that laughter means you've finished your task' smiled Jack.

'Oh yes, Chief. We've got everything we can get on the Buchanan's anyway' answered Dwayne, coming back down to earth.

'Good. What have you got?'

'Well, it looks like Patrick has been a bit of a naughty boy' Dwayne went on. 'He has had two charges of being drunk and disorderly, one for fighting, and furthermore he is wanted in St Lucia. So is his wife Gemma'

'What for?' asked Florence.

'It doesn't say, but it looks like they are not people to trust'

'Yes indeed, some countries don't disclose details of incomplete investigations' Jack confirmed. 'We'll have to call St Lucia'.

'Their joint account is very healthy' Dwayne went on 'They seem to be better off that you'd expect for touring musicians playing specialist music'

'Interesting' agreed Jack.

'There is something else very strange though' continued J P'. 'I looked up George Lambert but the passport does not appear to be genuine. Did you say he arrived in Sainte Marie on Saturday afternoon with the victim?'

'Yes, that's right, confirmed Jack.

'Well, I also checked the passenger list for the flight that came in from Paris on Saturday but there is nobody by that name listed. I checked every other flight too and nothing'

'So it looks like this young man may not be who he says he is then?' said Florence.

'I think we'll need to have another chat with him' agreed Jack. 'I think he said he'd be at Catherine's at some point today but we can check at the hostel on the way. Anything else before we go?'

'Not really' said Dwayne. 'There is not much on Claire Rostant, no record, identity checks out, nothing unusual in her graduate account'

'Herve Picard has no recent convictions either' continued J P, 'just theft of a vehicle thirty-five years ago when he was young and stupid, and a speeding fine in two thousand and five. Nothing obvious financially'.

'OK, good work gentlemen. You can write up what you have and call it a night. Florence and I will finish up at the hostel and possibly Catherine's' said Jack.

'Oh great, sir. I was hoping to take Darlene out for dinner' smiled Dwayne.

'Well, enjoy but be here bright and early in the morning. Goodnight'

'Goodnight Chief'

'Did you solve the case already?' enquired Catherine when she saw Jack and Florence coming in.

'No not yet. This is not a social visit' explained Jack. 'Has George Lambert been in today, you know the young man that was here with Heather Munro yesterday?'

'No he hasn't but Siobhan said he planned to come in'

'OK. Can I talk to my daughter for a minute please?'

'Yes, sure, Siobhan!' Catherine called and Siobhan quickly appeared from the kitchen.

'Hi dad!' she smiled.

'I'll get Florence here a drink while you have a break and sit down over there with your dad' Catherine indicated an isolated table at the far side of the bar.

'What's wrong?' Siobhan looked worried as she sat down'

'Have you heard from George today?' he asked her.

'No, why?'

'Well, I can't say too much, but please promise me you won't go anywhere alone with him?'

'Why not?...you don't think he killed the singer do you?!'

'No, well, I don't know who did it, but listen, people are not always what they appear to be and I would worry about you getting too friendly with him'

'Dad, I talked to him a lot yesterday and he was nothing but kind and gentleman-like!'

'What did he talk to you about?'

'Just about the family history he is researching, places he has travelled to, the TV programmes and music he likes…'

'Where did he say he had been?'

'All over France, Spain and Italy…and oh yes, St Lucia'

'St Lucia?'

'Yes, it sounded like he had spent a lot of time there. He knew Sainte-Marie well too considering he hadn't been here for so long'

'Interesting. And did you hear any of his conversation with Heather when they were eating together?'

'Bits and pieces. Catherine gave them both her 'special curry' and they were both good sports when they inevitably choked on it!' Jack smiled as he thought of the time he was given the curry. 'I didn't go to their table again until Heather was leaving. George wished her well with the gig and they parted on friendly terms'

'OK Siobhan, I'll let you get back to work, but please promise me you won't go off anywhere with George until this case is solved?'

'Well, OK but I don't believe he could have done it'

'Well take care and work hard for Catherine and I'll see you when you come home later'

'Bye dad' Siobhan hung her head as she headed back to the bar.

In the meantime Florence had been talking to Catherine about her dealings with the victim and the suspects.

'Did you hear anything significant in any of the conversations Heather had with either George Lambert or Mr and Mrs Buchanan at the bar?'

'Well, the Scottish couple bumped into Heather as they were leaving the bar. They said they were friends but I wasn't sure I believed them as Mrs Buchanan seemed to be exaggerating her friendliness, if you know what I mean, and Heather didn't exactly seem happy to see them. They seemed a bit competitive'

'What do you mean?'

'Mrs Buchanan said she and her husband had been well received in the Caribbean, almost braggingly, and Heather said the same. That was about it – they left after that. George, well he seemed decent, but I would have to say rather nervous and distracted'

'Really? How?'

'Well he kept looking around him as if he was afraid of seeing someone. And when the Scottish couple left he kept looking after them'

'That's interesting! Did they appear to know each other?'

'Well George seemed to be very interested in the Buchanans but they didn't seem to notice him at all'

'OK'

'And you know what? I don't know if this is significant but I…I almost felt as if I knew George from somewhere. He reminded me of someone but I can't think who!'

'That's interesting. You're not the first person to have said that!'

'Really?'

'Yes. And when you took Heather over to the community centre, did you notice anything unusual over there? Did Herve Picard or the barmaid Claire appear to know her or did they do or say anything out of the ordinary?'

'Not really. The only thing that seemed unusual was that Herve was at the community centre so early. He usually just gets there about an hour before a performance starts. The bar is not normally open at the time I went over either'

'OK, that you Catherine. You have been very helpful'

'No problem Florence, you know I am always happy to help the police'

At that point Jack re-joined them 'Well, that's your assistant back Catherine, thank you again'

'No problem. Can I get you another drink?' Catherine asked.

'Yes, one tonic water and whatever Florence would like' He then turned to his partner 'and since it is so late would you like to have something to eat here or do you have plans?'

'No I wasn't doing anything, so why not?' Florence agreed. 'I'll have your fish stew and a diet coke, Catherine'

'Do you have any of that roast beef left that you were serving at dinner time?' Jack enquired.

'For you, yes' Catherine smiled. 'Shall I bring your order to the table you were at with Siobhan?'

'Yes please'

Fifteen minutes later, Jack and Florence had shared what they had learned from Siobhan and Catherine and were tucking into their meals.

'That's very interesting about George having been in St Lucia' Florence remarked after swallowing a mouthful of her fish stew. 'Do you think he is somehow involved with the Buchanans? It would explain why he seemed so interested in what they were doing?'

'I don't know. It could certainly be a clue as to where he might have really come from yesterday, and also why he stayed on at the community centre after Siobhan and I left' said Jack before taking a sip of his tonic water. 'And I can't believe Catherine said the same as Dwayne about thinking she recognised him! There must be something in that!'

'I suppose we will need to pay Herve another visit at the community centre to ask about this unusual early opening?'

'Yes, definitely. I don't think they have anything on there tonight so it will be closed, but we will go round there in the morning. We'll have to try the hostel one more time to see if George has returned, and if not we'll get Dwayne and J P to do a stakeout all day tomorrow, and all night if necessary!'

'I'm sure they'll be chuffed with that plan, especially Dwayne!'

'Yes, well, needs must!' they both laughed.

'Shall I get the bill?'

'No don't worry I will. And I'll speak to the Commissioner about getting this on expenses anyway since we were here late on business'

'Have you had a chance to get to know our beloved Selwyn better since the award ceremony?'

'Goodness, no! I asked him if he would like company at the Sainte-Marie – Guadeloupe cricket match last Sunday but he said he'd be busy writing up match statistics!'

'Oh well, at least you tried!'

They chuckled and stood up to leave.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – New Day New Leads

After a fitful sleep from which he awoke almost once every hour, Jack had got up, washed, dressed and been picked up by Florence for another day of work on the murder case.

'I should think we'll get the post mortem results today' he commented.

'Yes we should. It looks like the stakeout won't be necessary though'

Jack looked up to where Florence was nodding and saw George standing outside the police station, along with Commissioner Selwyn Patterson. The latter walked towards Jack and Florence in his usual intimidating manner.

'Good day Inspector, Detective Sergeant Cassell'

'Good morning Commissioner' they both responded before looking back and forth between him and George.

'I understand from Officer Myers that you have been wanting to speak to this young man in connection with the Heather Munro murder case?

'That's correct' confirmed Jack.

'Well, let's go inside as there's something we need to explain'

'Yes, I guess you do!' Jack looked at Florence in bewilderment as they followed the Commissioner and George into the station. Dwayne and J P looked up from their desks as the four of them sat around the table they had sat at the day before. The Commissioner began

'Before we go any further, I would like to introduce you to Detective Sergeant Fidel Best of the St Lucia police force. I believe some of you already know him'. At this prompt, George aka Fidel took off his wig and glasses to reveal a familiar face.

'Fidel?! Is it really you?!' gasped Dwayne, and ran to give his former partner a man-hug.

'Good to see you old man!' said Fidel hugging him back.

'Wow is this my predecessor?' asked J P

'It is indeed' confirmed Dwayne. 'J P, Serge, Inspector, this is Fidel who did J P's job before being promoted and relocating to St Lucia to work as a detective'

'It's…nice to meet you' said a startled Jack.

'Pleasure' said Florence, still wondering what was going on.

'Now, you see' the Commissioner began again 'Detective Sergeant Best here has been working undercover, investigating crimes believed to have been committed by Patrick and Gemma Buchanan on St Lucia. When the Buchanans came to Sainte-Marie, the Sergeant's home island, he had to take on a different identity to prevent being recognised and risking the Buchanans realising he was onto them. It was thought that acting as a tourist would be best'

'I'm sorry for not telling you who I really was sooner' added Fidel. 'I almost did yesterday after giving you the information I had about the behaviour of the Buchanans on Sainte-Marie but I thought I'd better clear it with my Detective Inspector and the Commissioner first'

'OK, but why was the investigation not passed on to us? In any case I would have thought we should at least have been told there was an undercover operation going on?!' said Jack.

'I only heard about it early this morning, Inspector' the Commissioner said, looking at Fidel.

'Again, I'm sorry you weren't told sooner' said Fidel, 'but as the travel itinerary of the Buchanans was not known by any police force I was sent on from St Lucia to follow them to wherever they were going. Unfortunately they realised they were being watched when they got to Dominica and managed to get away. I was tipped off on Saturday that they had arrived in Sainte-Marie so I bought the wig and glasses and got on the next flight without giving it much thought. I went to see the Commissioner yesterday before and after the couple's concert but he was not in his office'

'Um…Sunday!' shrugged the Commissioner, before continuing. 'Now, the St Lucia police believe Mr and Mrs Buchanan performed concerts over there and claimed to have written a number of songs that were actually written by other people. They then sold what we believe to have been pirate copies of their CDs and charging the full price. They also apparently changed the CD that was playing at one of the venues to their own one and forced the venue to pay them royalties. A lot of people were cheated out of money and made complaints'

'I was at their concert yesterday and have now actually witnessed them doing similar things here' continued Fidel. 'I suspect from the exchange I partly overheard after Heather's concert that she might have been aware of at least some of their misdeeds – that could have been what Patrick wanted assurance on that Heather had not repeated'

'Well, if Heather did know then that would certainly give the Buchanans a solid motive to murder her. Their musical career would be over if she reported them!' said Jack.

'And it does sound like they are in the habit of tampering with background music and would be familiar with sound systems so it wouldn't be surprising if it was Gemma that turned up the volume' said Florence.

'So shall we bring them in for these fraud and copyright theft charges and question them about what Heather knew?' asked Fidel.

'Yes I would think so' said the Commissioner 'I will let you surprise them at their accommodation, Sergeant Best, since that is your case. Then Inspector Mooney and Detective Sergeant Cassell can take over regarding the murder motive'

'Got it' they all nodded. The Commissioner turned to Jack.

'Now it goes without saying, Inspector, that we need to get this case solved as quickly as possible. There has been talk about an international music festival starting which would bring over many more musicians and singers from abroad, but I'm sure you'll understand how reluctant these musicians might be to come here if they thought their lives were going to be in danger? And how unlikely the Arts Council would be to grant funding for this if they thought the performers coming over were all criminals?'

'Of course, I understand'

'I'll be going now. I'll leave you to your reunion and I'll be waiting for you in the lobby of the Marina Hotel to back you up, Detective Sergeant Best. You probably want to come as George initially' The Commissioner got up and left the station.

'So Fidel, how are Juliette and the little ones?' asked Dwayne excitedly.

'Doing fine. Juliette has settled into life in St Lucia and is working as a childminder. Rosie is now six and at school and loving it. Little Julio has just turned two and is a little tearaway!'

'They sound adorable' commented Florence.

'Tiring though' Fidel assured her.

'I love your daughter's name – my wife is also called Rosie' said J P.

'Thank you. Well if you're married I guess you have done the right thing and avoided taking any relationship advice from Dwayne!' joked Fidel.

'Hey, I have a girlfriend now!' retaliated Dwayne.

'Really?' said Fidel, wide eyed.

'Yes, see?' Dwayne showed Fidel a photo of him and Darlene on his phone.

'She looks lovely, well done man!'

'Well, I'm sorry to have to break this up' said Jack, 'but Florence and I need to go over to the Community Centre to ask some more questions. I guess we'll see more of you in the next few days while we complete this investigation, Fidel?'

'Yes, I would think so. I'll be either at the hostel or the library if I can be of any more help'

'Well it's been great seeing you again' said Dwayne. 'I hope we'll all get a chance to go for a drink together before you leave?'

'I hope so!' He turned back to Jack. 'Um Inspector…can we speak outside?'

'Sure' he replied and the two of them went out onto the porch.

'Inspector' began Fidel, 'Um…I just wanted to apologise if I led your daughter to believe I was interested in her. I will speak to her myself but wanted to say sorry to you too. I was trying to blend in as a typical young man on holiday on the island but perhaps I went too far. As you will have gathered I am actually a married man with a family'

'I see' sighed Jack. 'Well as it happens I warned her off you last night after we discovered there was no George Lambert on the flight from Paris on Saturday and we thought you might have more to hide. She was very disappointed as she did seem to really like you, but she's a strong girl and will get over it'

'I hope so. She deserves someone special'

'She'll be working in Catherine's this evening and has a break around eight thirty if you would like to see her then to explain?'

'Thank you, I'll do that'

Jack went back into the station while Fidel put on his wig and became George again, and headed away.

'Well, is the post mortem report in?' Jack asked.

'Yes it is' replied J P. 'Here we go…time of death confirmed as being between twelve and four am on Sunday morning. Cause of death is as expected, not the result of a blow to the back of the victim's head but carbolic acid poisoning. It is likely she was hit by a narrow wooden object and this could have hastened her death'

'Carbolic acid?' commented Jack 'That's used medically and also found in household cleaners, isn't it?'

'Yes, disinfectants, antiseptics, adhesive dyes, even perfumes have it' confirmed Florence.

'And my mum used to use it to clean my cuts and grazes when I was a boy' said Dwayne.

'But a large concentration would be required to poison someone quickly as in this case' asked Jack.

'Yes I imagine it would have had to come from a larger supplier' said Florence.

'There's a couple of warehouses down by the harbour' advised Dwayne. 'One dealing in industrial cleaning supplies and the other in lab chemicals'

'Well, you and J P can head over there and find out if they sold anything containing phenol to any of our suspects'

'Yes sir' the two officers replied.

'Is there anything else, JP? The glass and cups? The CD player?'

'As you thought there was no trace of the acid in the glass or any of the cups or the crisp packet so none of these were used to administer the poison. Several fingerprints were found on the CD player though, including those of Herve Picard and Claire Rostant. The most recent ones appear to be Claire's'

'Well that's interesting considering Claire now appears to have a confirmed alibi courtesy of Detective Sergeant Best. No sign of Gemma Buchanan touching it?'

'No sir'

'OK, well let's get on with our assigned tasks and get this solved' Jack concluded and he and Florence headed out to the Defender while Dwayne and J P got on the motorbike and sidecar.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – The Harbour

While the west side of Honore harbour was alive with the yachts belonging to wealthy residents and tourists, and bustling with ferries, fishing boats and small commercial vessels, the east side was secluded and run down. Tourists were not advised to walk along here alone. There was a row of large, uniform business units beyond which was what looked like a shanty town, where some of the less fortunate Honore residents lived. The motorbike pulled up outside the third industrial unit along and Dwayne and JP dismounted and switched their helmets for their police caps. The local woman behind the counter of Caribchem Inc stood up as the two police officers entered the building.

'What can I do for you officers?' she asked.

'We are investigating a murder case and would like to ask you a few questions about the supply of chemicals containing phenol' Dwayne advised.

'I see. What would you like to know?'

'Could you please tell us if you sold any such chemicals to any of these individuals in the last few days?' JP asked laying down photographs of the four remaining suspects on the counter'

'No I don't think so' she said 'But we don't normally make sales to individuals. We almost exclusively supply laboratories and teaching facilities such as schools and the college. I certainly haven't made any individual sales in the last two weeks. I'll check with my business partner though. Anthony!' she called and a greying man came through from the store room.

'Officers!' he greeted, surprised to see the police.

'You didn't sell any chemicals to individuals in the last few days did you?' enquired the woman.

'No, I have just taken bulk orders from our regular industrial and government customers' Anthony assured them.

'Do you supply the Honore Community centre?' asked Dwayne.

'No' the woman assured them

'OK thank you for your time ma'am, sir' concluded J P and the two of them left the unit.

'Hmm they seemed genuine and honest' commented J P.

'Yes I would have to agree with you' said Dwayne. Let's move on to the Harbour Cleaning Company'

The two officers walked the fifty or so yards to the last unit on the block. Dwayne turned to J P

'You know, I think we make a great team'

'Yes, I suppose we do' said J P, wondering where Dwayne was going with this.

'So I was just thinking, if I do form a band and become big and go off touring…'

'Yes, that would be the end of our partnership and I'd miss you' J P doubted this would ever happen.

'Yes, so I was thinking you could be our roadie'

'Roadie?'

'Yes, all bands have a roadie. You would come on tour with us and help carry our instruments and equipment'

'I see. Well thank you for the job offer but it's not quite how I see my career going!'

'I guess you want to stay in the police. Do you think you will do your sergeant's exams soon and then become a detective like Fidel?'

'I don't know, I always assumed I would be promoted one day!'

'Well, good on you I guess!'

'But you're happy where you are?'

'We can't all get the good things' he laughed and changed the subject as they arrived at the second warehouse on their agenda. 'Time to see if we have any more luck with these guys. It's a little more shady here though!'

J P looked into the unit and saw two tough-looking, scruffily dressed men, with chains, tattoos and piercings, looking at them and whispering. They went in with their heads held high to show these men they meant business.

'Officer Myers and friend. What do you want today?' said the overweight man behind the counter. His companion stood on the other side, leaning on the part of the counter that lifted up to let staff in and out, as if there was something behind the counter that he didn't want the police to see.

J P's eyes widened as he realised Dwayne was well acquainted with these characters.

'We're investigating a case' Dwayne explained. 'I don't need to see what is going on behind your counter, just as long as you answer our questions honestly. You understand?'

'I suppose we can work with you on that basis' the man leaning on the counter agreed, remaining in the defensive position. Dwayne looked at J P who professionally took out the photographs of the murder suspects without showing any sign of feeling intimidated by the shop workers.

'Can you please tell us if either of you have served any of these people in the last few days?' he asked them, getting straight to the point.

'Yes, I think I have' said the man behind the counter, pointing to the photograph of Claire.

'OK and can you remember what she bought?'

'Now what was it again?' he scratched his head for thirty seconds or so. 'Oh yes, I believe it was a pack of microfiber cloths, bleach and a big bottle of disinfectant'

'Excellent. May we see bottles of the same bleach and disinfectant?'

'Sure' the other man went over to a shelf and picked up a bottle of bleach before going into the back store-room to fetch the detergent which was not on display. J P looked at the ingredients on the bleach bottle

'Disinfectant, sodium hypochlorite, less than five percent chlorine based bleaching agent, non-ionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, soap, perfume'

'Anything in that?' Dwayne asked quietly.

'Perfume as Sergeant Cassell said, but seems to be a low concentration. Disinfectant too but again not strong enough to cause death so quickly'

'OK what does the detergent bottle say?'

'Let's see…Disinfectant and perfume again, various acids but no mention of carbolic or phenol. Not sure if it's what we're looking for, but on the other had why would Claire be buying an industrial quantity of detergent?'

'And was that definitely all the young woman bought' Dwayne asked the men again.

'Yes. But she went straight over to the pharmacy across the road after she left. Talked to the curly haired lady behind the counter for some time'

'Of course, carbolic acid is also used medically. I wonder…' Dwayne winked at J P.

'Well, thank you for your help gentlemen, but please remember that I could come back any time in case you are up to anything illegal' Dwayne reminded them.

'Of course officer. Good day' the man on the shop floor concluded the conversation and Dwayne and J P left.

'Are those guys known criminals?' J P asked Dwayne.

'Let's just say I've visited them once or twice' Dwayne replied. 'Now, let's have a chat with this chemist'.

The two of them crossed the road and found themselves face to face with the woman the men at the Harbour Cleaning Company had spoken about.

'How can I help you?' she asked them.

'I understand this young woman came in a few days ago and you spoke to her for some time?' J P asked her, showing her the photo of Claire.

'Yes, I do remember' the woman confirmed. 'She had a complex query I assisted with'

'And what would that have been?' asked Dwayne.

'I can't tell you, patient confidentiality' the woman insisted.

'I see, even if a serious crime may have been committed?' J P pressed.

'I don't think that's possible'

'Did you sell her carbolic acid?' Dwayne asked directly.

'No comment' the woman persisted.

'Well we may need to come back if this turns out to be important' J P said as they left.

'Right, let's go back to the station' said Dwayne. 'I'll let you call the Inspector on the way'

'Sure' said J P and they headed back to where they had left the motorbike.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Back to the Scene of the Crime

Meanwhile Jack and Florence were back in Herve's office at the community centre.

'What time did you arrive at the community centre on Saturday?' Jack began.

'At four o'clock' Herve replied.

'Would you like to explain to us why the centre was opened much earlier than usual on this occasion? I understand you wouldn't normally open until around six'

'Why is this an issue?' Herve questioned.

'Just answer the question' Jack insisted.

'OK, well this was not a performance we have every day. We needed to make an impression on our guest from abroad so had to make sure we had everything in place for her arrival'

'Such as?'

'All the sound equipment in place, the dressing room in order, the bar stocked up…'

'And you don't do this for local artists or other events'

Well yes, but we had to make an extra special effort on this occasion since there has been talk of a festival being established'

'And Claire was also here early?'

'For her sins, yes'

'What do you mean by that?' asked Florence.

'Well, she hates the hard work she has to do. She has always fancied herself as a singer or actress and went to many auditions when she was a student but I guess she just hasn't got what it takes. She is always jealous of those who are successful in achieving such dreams and resents having to be the humble barmaid and serving them'

'So what are you saying? That Claire might have committed murder out of jealousy?' asked Jack.

'You never know with the younger generation these days'

'We recall you told us you had email contact with Mrs Munro prior to her coming to Sainte-Marie' said Florence. 'Could we please see that?'

'There's nothing to see, just us organising the gig and me giving her directions to the centre and instructions to meet the Mayor at her bar' Herve tried to assure them.

'Well, we'd like to see the correspondence anyway. It's procedure in a case like this' Jack pressed.

'Well alright, shall I forward the trail to you?'

'You can lend us your laptop' said Florence, looking at the machine he was using.

'But I need it to do my accounts and correspond with arts companies!' Herve protested.

'We'll return it as quickly as possible' Jack assured him, and Herve reluctantly handed over the laptop. 'OK thank you for your time Mr Picard. We just need to have another look at the crime scene'

'By all means. I'll be here catching up on some filing while you have the laptop'

Jack walked over to the spot where Heather had lain on the floor and attempted to act out the scene where she fell and landed in the position she was in.

'She must have drunk the poison and vomited into the bin before staggering over to the other side of the room to escape our killer. They must have come round to her other side and hit her with…whatever object caused the head injury. Then she must have slipped to her right and fallen into the position she was found in'

'Very good' Florence admired her superior. 'So what has happened to the object that was used? And where is the drinking vessel containing the poison?'

'That's what we need to find out! Dwayne and J P did a thorough search of this room and the rest of the centre but found nothing'

'Then they must have been taken somewhere else?'

'Exactly, but where? Surely someone would have seen an object covered in blood being moved? This is a complete mystery!'

'Herve seemed reluctant to give us his laptop. Do you think he is hiding something?'

'Quite possibly. We'll get the computer searched and find out' Jack's phone rang at that point 'It's J P. I wonder how he and Dwayne got on at the harbour? Hello?'

After the call Jack and Florence returned to Herve's office.

'Well I think we're done in here for now' announced Jack 'but we need to have a chat with Claire. Can you tell us where to find her?'

'Sure, here's her address' Herve wrote it down on a post-it note.

'Thank you, we'll be in touch if we need to follow up on any more leads' said Florence as they both left the room again.

'OK let's take this laptop back to the station and get one of the boys to search it while we head over to Claire's family's home' Jack decided.

Dwayne sat with Darlene in a small café a few miles along the coast from the police station. There were only a handful of other diners in other corners so they had a good bit of space to themselves.

'I'm glad you were able to take some time out for lunch Dwayne' said Darlene, gazing into his eyes.

'Well I am always entitled to at least half an hour' he assured her.

'How is the case going?'  
'We're still following up on a number of leads but it's only a matter of time before the chief cracks it!'  
'Yes he's an amazing detective isn't he?'  
'Yes he is. Hey...no! I should have known!' Dwayne wailed.  
'What do you mean' Darlene demanded, leaning over towards him.  
'You still have the hots for him!'  
'No I don't!' She almost screamed.  
'You sure?'  
'Yes Dwayne! You know, I'm the happiest I have been in the last fifteen years since we started dating! Why can't you see it?!'  
'R-really?!'  
'Yes. Please believe me? And tell me you feel the same?' Her eyes were wide and pleading.  
'Oh Darlene, you don't know what this means to me! I really am happy when I'm with you, and of course I believe you!'

And with that they left their table and shared a kiss while overlooking the sea.

The Defender drew up outside a small wooden semi-detached house just outside the centre of Honore. The exterior was painted red with creeping vines going up and a row of plant pots at the bottom. The canope over the door was painted white. Jack knocked on the door, which was answered by Claire's father, a slightly overweight middle aged man who looked at the Detectives with a nervous look on his face.

'What can I do for you?' he asked.

'We'd like to speak to Claire Rostant, your daughter?' Jack advised him.

'Of course' Mr Rostant replied reluctantly, ushering Jack and Florence into the front room where Claire was sitting with her mother. Claire tensed up when she saw them.

'Is there somewhere we can talk, Miss Rostant?' Jack asked her.

'In the conservatory' Claire answered, and Jack and Florence followed her through double doors.

'Can I get you something to drink?' Mrs Rostant asked. 'Lemonade?'

'That sounds good, it's rather hot today' agreed Jack gratefully.

'Yes please' said Florence.

Five minutes later Jack got down to business with Claire, having quenched his thirst.

'So Miss Rostant, Claire?'

'Yes' she answered.

'How long have you worked at the Community Centre?'

'Um…since January this year'

'And do you like your job?'

'Yes, most of the time. Why?'

'It's just that Mr Picard doesn't seem to think you do, at least that it is not what you saw yourself doing when you were a student. Would that be correct?'

'I guess'

'So what were you hoping to do?'

'Well I have always wanted to be a singer. I hoped someone would sign me. That or acting'

'But it hasn't worked out for you?'

'No, I mean not yet. Why?'

'You feel jealous of the success of other singers and actors, don't you?' Florence cut to the chase.

'Maybe a little bit' Claire bit her lip.

'And you were very jealous of Heather Munro and how popular she was with the audience!'

'What are you saying?' Claire was becoming very anxious.

'Did you get so overcome with jealousy that you killed Heather?' Jack asked her outright.

'No!' Claire screamed at them. 'I may have envied her but I would never do that!'

'Really? So why were you buying bleach and disinfectant in industrial quantities from the Harbour Cleaning Company?' asked Jack

'Eh? What has that got to do with this?' Claire looked genuinely confused.

'These items contain phenol, otherwise known as carbolic acid. This is what was used to poison Heather Munro'

'Oh. Gosh! I was buying these items for the Community Centre, helping out Herve. They were for the cleaners to use. You can ask Herve if you don't believe me'

'Alright. But why were you then seen in the nearby pharmacy buying medical carbolic acid?'

'Buying what?'

'You were seen in the pharmacy after your visit to the cleaning supplies store and the pharmacist would not confirm or deny that you had purchased carbolic acid' Florence clarified.

'Oh. No, I wasn't buying carbolic acid. I was getting medicines for my mother. She has just recovered from a bout of tropical fever. You are welcome to ask her and I am sure she will tell Sylvie, the pharmacist that it is alright for her to confirm what I was buying in these circumstances. She does take patient confidentiality very seriously'

'OK I understand' said Jack. 'But just one more thing. The lab confirmed that the last set of prints to appear on the CD player that the music in the centre was playing from were yours. Can you explain that?'

'Of course. I was in the main hall collecting empty glasses at the end of the performance and was asked by Herve to put the music on since the sound engineer had left his station without doing it. That was the last time I touched it. Honestly!'

'So how do you think the music managed to get louder?' asked Florence.

'I honestly have no idea'

'Did you see or hear anything that you think we should be aware of?'

'Not really, except…'

'Except what?' asked Jack.

'It's just…well Herve seemed to be a bit more tense than usual that night. He is usually quite relaxed and lets all the staff get on with their jobs, but on Saturday night he was being a bit more…controlling than usual, like he needed to be sure exactly what was happening all the time'

'And you don't think this was just a special effort being made for a performer from abroad and the possibility of more international performances in the future?'

'No…maybe…I don't know'

'And how is your relationship with Mr Picard generally?' asked Florence.

'Generally OK when I do what I'm told. But if I make any suggestions or show initiative he is never happy about it and just exerts his authority, if you know what I mean'

'So quite a stern and arrogant boss then?'

'Yes. He is proud to be a nephew of a politician from the sixties who was very much like that from what my dad has told me. Jacques Henri or something?'

'I see. OK Claire, that will be all for today, but we may need to come back if anything else comes up' Jack concluded.

'I understand' said Claire, with a mixture of relief and anxiety.

Jack and Florence briefly discussed their encounter with Claire when back in the jeep.

'Well she seems genuinely anxious around us, but do you think it is just timidity at authority figures, or do you think she may be hiding something?' Jack asked Florence.

'I don't know. If you think about the crime scene it did look a bit…amateur in that it was a very poor attempt to make Heather's death look like a tragic accident. Kind of what you'd expect from a young girl'

'Good point. Although that could be just what the murderer wants us to think!'

'I suppose. What about Herve and his unusual behaviour at the concert? Could that also be suspicious?'

'Quite possibly. He sounds a bit OCD as well as arrogant. Could he have been planning something on Saturday?'

'OCD?'

'Obsessive compulsive disorder, when someone checks something or performs a routine repeatedly and cannot control their activity for very long'

'Ah, yes, we call it _trouble obsessionnel compulsif._ Gosh, I've written so many notes about this murder it's going to take a month to review them!' exclaimed Florence a few minutes later when they were back in the Defender.

'I know, there's so much to take in' agreed Jack.

When Dwayne arrived back at the station Jack and Florence were still out interviewing and J P was down in the basement looking for a very old case file, hence he was working alone. Still buzzing after he and Darlene had declared their love for each other, he danced around the room singing 'She Loves Me Now' by UB40, imagining a big band playing along in the background. As he came to a crescendo, he was quickly brought back down to earth by a deep cough, followed by 'Ahem, Officer Myers?' in a familiar drawl. He stopped singing at once and turned round, immediately cringing in embarrassment as he saw the Commissioner standing at the door, looking at him with his ever serious face. Behind him, Fidel could not contain his laughter.

'Um…that was very… entertaining Officer!' began the Commissioner.

'Um…thanks?' Dwayne for once was lost for words.

'Anyway, where is Inspector Mooney?'

'Um…he's out with Sergeant Cassell interviewing one of the suspects'

'I hope he won't be long 'cos we have a problem'

'Patrick and Gemma Buchanan haven't been seen at their hotel since early this morning. Apparently they headed towards the harbour' explained Fidel.

'So they may have left the island?' gasped Dwayne.

'Exactly our problem' confirmed the Commissioner. 'I need you and Officer Hooper to search the east side of the harbour and Inspector Mooney and Sergeant Cassell the west. Sergeant Best and I will board the two ferries that are due to leave this afternoon and do a full search among the passengers'

'So…in the meantime, I take it the love life is on the right track?' laughed Fidel.

'I'm not going to be able to live that down, am I?'

'Did I miss something?' J P appeared with a pile of files.

'Just the performance of the year!' Fidel informed him. Dwayne drooped his head.

'Oh, practicing for your role within the band?' asked J P.

'Band? Really?' laughed Fidel.

'He's thinking of starting one!' said J P.

'Well, if you give the performance you gave us when we arrived you will certainly be talked about!' said Fidel.

At that point Jack and Florence returned.

'OK, sorry to break up the discussion but it's time to get back to work!' announced the Commissioner and immediately filled the whole team in on the situation.

'Don't tell me it's them after all!' exclaimed Jack.

'They're definitely running away from something. Could it just be the plagiarism or are they guilty of something much worse?' wondered Florence.

'Well, let's find them before they get away with it!' said the Commissioner and the three pairs set off for their allocated area of the harbour.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – The Harbour (Again!)

Dwayne and J P went back in the same direction they had travelled in earlier, this time going all the way down to the marina where they saw a row of barely-seaworthy fishing boats and old yachts.

'I have visited a lot of these boats before' said Dwayne. 'A lot of the fishermen here are not in the habit of paying their taxes. The owner of that yacht there was taken in for running illegal tours in that boat when it could have sunk at any minute taking him and the tourists with it'

'I don't think I'd fancy that tour' commented J P.

They approached the first fishing boat on which sat two scruffy local men in the process of mending their nets.

'Good afternoon Sirs' Dwayne began. 'Can you tell me if you have seen this couple?' he showed them photos of Patrick and Gemma.

'Um…no' said the first fisherman. The others shook their heads in unison.

'Do you mind if we search your boats?' continued J P. There were protests at this but most of the fishermen allowed the two police officers to board their boats and check every possible place the missing couple could be hiding. However, one tough and muscly fisherman refused to allow them onto his boat.

'Are we going to have to get a warrant?' Dwayne quizzed him.

'I haven't seen the people you are looking for and I don't take passengers on my boat. There is nothing to see!' he insisted arrogantly.

'Then there is nothing to worry about, is there?'

'Look, it wouldn't be good for you to go onto the boat. It is rather smelly with the cargo I am carrying. If anyone did ask me for a lift they would change their mind as soon as they climbed on'

'And what cargo are you talking about?' asked J P.

'I'm engaged in a waste disposal business on the side, OK?!' the fisherman screamed.

'Waste disposal?'

'You know, rubbish! I help out small businesses by taking away their waste for a better rate than the local Council'

'I see' said Dwayne. 'But we've smelt worse. If you don't let us on now we will have to report this undeclared business of yours as well as getting a warrant to search your boat!' At that the fisherman cursed and reluctantly let Dwayne and J P board the boat. A quick search on the main deck and the area below confirmed there were no people on board, however neither officer smelt the putrid smell of waste they expected to, which raised suspicion. Seeing what looked like a bin bag sticking out of a cupboard door, J P opened the cupboard to find a single bag containing a redundant remote control for an electrical item, a broken champagne flute and a rolling pin that appeared to have been used as a paint roller as it was covered in many different colours of paint.

'What do you think is going on here?' he asked Dwayne.

'I have no idea but the way the man was acting it all seems very suspicious'

Back on dry land, the officers confronted the fisherman regarding the rubbish bag.

'Where did you get this bag of waste?' Dwayne asked him.

'I am unable to disclose that information. Customer confidentiality!' the man insisted.

'I thought you said you had several clients and that your boat was smelly. Why do you have only one bag? And unless both of us have suddenly lost our sense of smell the is not the odour you told us there would be on board'

'What can I say? It's a quiet day today. Normally it's smellier'

'Is there something special about this one bag?' asked J P. 'Why is it in a cupboard rather than a cargo hold?'

'Really? I must have put it there by mistake. I will move it to the hold immediately'

'OK, well we'll be back if we have any more questions. Thank you'

Their queries with the other groups of fishermen yielded no further results.

Meanwhile, Jack and Florence were speaking to wealthy yacht owners who had anchored up at the west side of the harbour. Every time a new yacht appeared it seemed to be a bit bigger, or have a new unique feature that made it better than the last one. The detectives had shown photos of Patrick and Gemma to around a dozen yacht owners and done searches of the grand boats, when they came to a well-polished new-looking two-story yacht belonging to a middle-aged English couple.

'Excuse me' began Jack. 'Could you tell me if you've seen this couple?' he asked, showing the photos to a man with gelled greying hair in expensive trousers and a starched sleeveless white shirt, and an immaculately styled blonde woman in a designer dress and sandals.

'Now they do look somewhat familiar' said the man.

'Is that not the couple that tried to get on the ferry without passports?' the woman suggested.

'They tried to get on the ferry? when?!' asked Florence.

'About…an hour and a half ago' said the woman.

'Had a bit of an argument before having a look at the yachts along here' said the man. 'We were concerned they might try to get on board our yacht but I saw them going off up towards the marketplace before they got to us'

'So…they went that way?' said Jack, pointing to the street leading up to the main road where the stalls were set up.

'Yes' confirmed the woman.

'Thank you, you have been very helpful' Jack and Florence left the couple.

'So, do we continue with the last few boats or do we speak to the stall holders?' Florence asked.

'Hmm…what do you think they would have been wanting from the market?' Jack pondered.

'I don't know. Something for lunch? A Sainte-Marie souvenir?'

'Somehow I don't think either of those things would have been their top priority'

'I see what you mean. What would someone in their situation be most in need of then?' Florence tried to think. 'Presumably they know that we know about their criminal activities so were trying to get off the island before we caught up with them. So if that was not possible they would need to find another way of stopping us finding them'

'Very good Florence. And since they knew we would be making enquiries all around the island they would need to hide themselves very well indeed!'

'Just like Fidel when he followed them here!'

'Just like Fidel…ah! Are there any stalls selling wigs? Glasses? Anything to disguise their appearance?'

'Follow me!' Florence led Jack up to meet someone who sold just that.

Ten minutes later they were speaking to a stall holder.

'Yes, they were here about an hour ago and bought a curly afro wig each. The woman bought a red floral headscarf like the local women wear and the man bought a man's bandana.

'Great. And which direction did they go in after they left?' asked Jack.

'They headed back towards the marina. Said it was time to go back to their boat and head to Guadeloupe'

' _Their_ boat?' exclaimed Florence. 'Did they tell you anything about this boat?'

'No. Oh yes, the woman said that the scarf she bought was the colour of the sail on their boat if that is any help'

'OK so we're looking for a red sail' confirmed Jack. 'Thank you very much, Sir, you have been very helpful. Right, back to the harbour, Florence!' And with that the two detectives headed back in the direction they had come from. Once back at the line of yachts they had been searching, they reviewed the ones they had already visited.

'Well, we didn't see anyone with an afro or a red headscarf or bandana earlier on, did we?' recalled Florence.

'No, you're right, and the couple we spoke to earlier said they were looking at yachts to the east of theirs. Let's look at the sails on the boats we haven't been to first, shall we?'

The first yacht looked brand new and very expensive and a group of well-dressed British people were standing on deck drinking prosecco, with a good view of their gangway. The sail was green with a yellow star.

'Not this one, I don't think' said Jack.

'Agreed' said Florence.

The second yacht was bigger and had a blue sail and a security guard stood sentry by the entrance.

'No way they could have got on that one!' commented Florence.

'No and the wrong colour again' agreed Jack.

The third boat was very small and looked abandoned, but after a few seconds there was movement indicating someone was inside. It was topped by a small red sail.

'Aha! This one is worth investigating' said Jack and the two of them headed to the gangplank. As they approached the entrance to the boat they heard music coming from inside but when Jack knocked on the door and shouted 'hello' it suddenly stopped. There was some shuffling followed by an attempt at a 'hello' by a female in a Caribbean accent.

'May we come in?' Jack shouted.

'Wh-what can we do for you?' came the voice again.

'It's the police. We're conducting a search of all the boats in this harbour. Do you mind if we board your boat?'

'There's nothing for you to see here. We need to sail away now in order to make it to our destination on time?'

'Really? Where are you going?'

'Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe'

'What's your business there?'

'How does that concern you?'

'We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Are you going to let us board the yacht or do we have to get a warrant and arrange for police to be waiting for you at every port you could possibly get to?'

'Ok come aboard' came a male voice. The two detectives boarded the boat, Florence staying by the entrance as a precaution while Jack proceeded towards where the two voices came from.

'Mr and Mrs Buchanan?' Jack asked, entering a small deck and coming face to face with a white couple who both had afro hair.

'Ye-' Patrick began before getting a strained look from Gemma who was being more careful what she said and tried to get away with saying 'who, Sir?'

Jack winked to Florence and she made a phone call. 'Why are you running away? Got something to hide, have we?'

'What are you talking about? We're just a couple of Sainte-Marie merchants on our way to Guadeloupe to trade' Gemma vainly tried to pull the wool over Jack's eyes.

'Oh, I see. So what trade are you in?'

'Um…musical instruments'

'I see you have those' Jack agreed. 'But I specifically remember seeing this guitar yesterday' he remarked, looking at the guitar Patrick was packing away when they had last spoken. 'So come on, off with the wigs and let's go back to the station for a talk'

'I don't think so' said Patrick, starting the yacht's engine.

'Oh, I think so' said 'George', boarding the vessel and turning the engine back off before tackling Patrick and handcuffing him.

'What's this? A citizen's arrest?' laughed Gemma.

'Oh, yes' said Fidel, removing his wig and glasses.

'No!' gasped Patrick and Gemma together.

'Yes it's me, Detective Sergeant Fidel Best. I am arresting you for fraud and plagiarism on St Lucia'. Jack helped him by handcuffing Gemma. 'Now, off with your wigs too!' Fidel continued, removing Patrick's afro. Florence came on to the deck and did the same to Gemma.

'Good work' said the Commissioner appearing at the entrance before making way for the two criminals to be led out. As they were ushered into the Defender, Dwayne and J P pulled up.

'Oh no, did we miss the action!' moaned Dwayne.

'I'm afraid so' Fidel informed them. 'The Buchanans were in one of the pleasure boats on this side of the harbour. The Commissioner and I were told by the staff on the Dominica ferry that they had tried to board but were refused and headed in this direction. We made it here just as the Inspector and Sergeant Cassell found them!'

'Well, I guess they could have been on our side so we did play a part!' J P reflected.

'I suppose so' agreed Dwayne as they all set off for the station.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Further Questioning

After Fidel had questioned Patrick and Gemma about the fraud and plagiarism charges, they were taken to the main table in the police station to be interviewed by Jack and Florence.

'So Mr Buchanan' began Jack, addressing Patrick. 'I believe you lied to us yesterday when you told us you and Mrs Munro were arguing about the origin of _The Wind that Shakes the Barley_? Would you care to tell me what you were really talking about?'

Patrick tutted and backed down 'OK so Heather sings a song that we do sometimes and when we met in Germany last year she confronted me and said somebody had told her at the end of one of her concerts that they had seen us in concert a couple of weeks before and that Gemma had said she had written it, so this person was confused when Heather acknowledged that it was written by the legendary songwriter Robert Main'

'I see, and so you threatened her with her life if she reported this to the relevant authorities?'

'No I didn't threaten her with her life, nor did either my wife or I murder her over this!'

'So what exactly was the threat?' asked Florence.

'I said I would _confess_ to her husband she had been having an affair with me. Gareth Munro would never forgive that and would have split with her immediately!'

'And is that true?'

'No, she couldn't stand the sight of me. But it would have been my word against Heather's!'

'And Mrs Buchanan' continued Jack 'could you please tell us once and for all what you were doing when you were alone in the hall where the concert took place'

'As I told you before, I was checking Heather's set list' answered Gemma with a hint of irritation in her voice. 'Only I was looking for _Edinburgh Nights_ by Robert Main rather than _The Wind That Shakes The Barley._ And no, I really did not turn up the volume on the CD player or murder Heather Munro'

'Yes we know you didn't touch the CD player' agreed Jack. 'But could you please tell me why you tried to run away from Sainte-Marie if you are not guilty of murder?'

'We are not guilty of murder, but as you know we have been found guilty of fraud and we were confronted by someone this morning who said they had evidence we had cheated them and were going to go to the police. We did it to try to save our careers'

'Well, I'm afraid it didn't work. Now I must remind you both of what will happen now' he looked between Gemma and Patrick. 'You will be kept in our holding cells while the murder investigation continues and if neither of you are found to be guilty of the murder you will be transferred to St Lucia to attend court for the charges you are facing there. If you are guilty you will have to attend court on both islands but will be detained here as this would then be the location of the most serious offence'. And with that Patrick and Gemma were led away to the cells.

'Well, I'm exhausted. It's been a very long two days!' said Jack. I'm going to head home for something to eat and a bit of quiet time, although I may have a think about things later on'

'Sounds like a good idea, Sir' agreed Dwayne, smiling.

'Got plans with Darlene again, have you?' Florence quizzed him.

'Maybe' he looked away and headed out the door.

'Things must be going well with those two' commented J P. He was singing and dancing earlier on!'

'Really?' gasped Jack and Florence together.

'Yes, the Commissioner and Fidel got an unexpected show when they arrived!'

'I wish I'd see it' Jack laughed.

'Me too!' giggled Florence.

'Well, I'd better be going. Rosie will have made dinner and will be wondering where I am'

'Then you'd better not keep her waiting!' agreed Jack. 'Good night J P'

'Good night Sir, Sergeant'

'Good night' echoed Florence. 'Well, I guess I'll call it a night too. Shall I drive you home?

'No, it's OK. I think I'll walk and get some fresh air'

'OK. Give me a call if you get a brainwave'

'Ditto'

Two hours later, having had a walk, eaten, showered and changed into comfortable clothes, Jack was still pacing up and down the porch of the shack.

'What do you think, Harry?' he asked the little green lizard who had appeared on the railing. Harry just stared back quizzically. 'The fellow folk singers who were known to the victim to be plagiarists and whose careers could have ended if she had reported what she knew about them? Or the jealous young barmaid? Or the arts chief who was acting in a suspiciously more controlling way than usual? And where's the poison and the weapon that was used to hit her on the head?'

'I don't know. I've been thinking about it too but I think it's time to relax and switch off from it for the night' Florence appeared out of nowhere.

'Oh hello Florence…were you listening to my rant?' Jack was slightly embarrassed.

'Just towards the end, I couldn't help it, sorry'

'No worries, really. And you're right. I should really leave it for the night'

'Yes, and I've brought some dessert. Coconut rice pudding, my favourite. I thought you might like to try it?'

'Sounds lovely, I do like the rice pudding we get at home'

'But this is our special coconut version. I hope you like it'

'I can't wait to find out. I'll just get two bowls and some rum to go with it'

'Perfect!'

As they tucked into the dessert, Jack exclaimed 'Mmm, this is lovely, Florence. You'll have to give me the recipe!'

'I will, it's quite easy' she promised.

They talked about their favourite foods for an hour or so, forgetting about the murder case, before Florence headed off and they both got some much needed sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – The Impossible Puzzle

The following morning saw Jack pacing the station, acting the scene over and over again and adding further annotations to the suspect board, Florence reading and re-reading her mountain of notes, J P looking through the background information on the suspects again in case anything important had been overlooked, and Dwayne finally getting round to looking at the correspondence on Herve's laptop.

'This is interesting' Dwayne announced as he opened a Word document. The rest of the team gathered round his desk. 'This appears to be Claire Rostant's periodic appraisal. According to this Herve had raised concerns on more than one occasion about her 'loss of temper and aggressive tendencies at work'. He had suggested that she seek counselling and warned her that if there was one more incident she would risk suspension or even dismissal'

'Strange, that seems very different from the girl we spoke to yesterday!' Florence exclaimed.

'And I just reviewed her police report and she has no prior convictions at all' commented J P. 'This _bad temper_ has not led her into any violent crime to date'

'Yes, but she could have been putting on an act for us. She did express an interest in acting, after all' countered Jack. 'And she is young, she could have escaped being caught doing anything bad so far'

'I suppose so' Florence agreed. J P nodded resignation.

'I've also found the email correspondence between Herve and Mrs Munro' continued Dwayne. 'This is also very interesting. Did you not say that Herve told you Heather contacted him in the first instance to enquire about playing a concert here?'

'Yes that's right…yes!' Florence found the correct place in her notebook.

'Well, it appears that the first email actually came from Herve. See?' Dwayne scrolled to an email sent by Herve to the enquiries address that he would have found on Heather's web page.

' _Dear Ms Munro, my name is Herve Picard and I am in charge of the arts on the island of Sainte-Marie in the Caribbean. I have heard your music on YouTube and think you are very talented_ , etcetera. Here we go. _I was wondering if you had thought about coming to this part of the world to perform?_ You see, it was him who asked her to come, not the other way round'

'Very interesting indeed' agreed Jack 'Good work Dwayne. Well, I think we have a few more leads there. We will have to have another talk with Herve and with Claire. Come on Florence'

Claire was at work that day and so Jack and Florence spoke to her first on arriving at the community centre since she was not busy.

'So Claire, how have you been getting on in your job?' Jack asked when they had seated themselves at a table in the deserted bar.

'What do you mean?' she queried.

'You have a lot of contact with customers and other staff. How do you find that?'

'Challenging sometimes, especially with those who over-indulge and those who don't like me, but all in all I enjoy working with people'

'And how do you deal with the challenging people?' asked Florence.

'With a combination of patience and assertiveness'

'Is that your standard answer?'

'W-what are you getting at?' she asked them straight.

'When we searched Herve's laptop we came across your latest appraisal report. We found it very interesting' Jack informed her.

'My appraisal? Why would that be interesting?!' she exclaimed.

'It mentions you had been told off for losing your temper and acting in an aggressive manner' Florence showed her the document in question and she looked at it in shock.

'What?! I-I don't know what he's talking about! He never spoke to me about this!'

'So you're saying this is false and you never lose your temper with customers?'

'No-I mean, there was one guy who was coming on to me, tried to reach over the bar and touch my breast. I pushed his hand away and yelled at him to quit being a pervert. He went and told Herve I was rude and twisted the story, turned out he was an arts minister from Guadeloupe that had come to assess the venue for suitability for artists from the big island to come to in order to bring the music to smaller neighbours. Herve fell out with me and blamed me for ruining our chances, wouldn't listen to my story'

'Oh gosh, that's awful' said Florence.

'And then there was this underage girl I refused to serve. She went away in a huff and I later found out she was the daughter of one of Herve's cronies that I was supposed to turn a blind eye to'.

'I see. But Herve has never addressed these _behavioural issues_ with you?

'Not formally in an appraisal, no'

Herve could not help but show irritation in his behaviour when the two detectives appeared in his office once again.

'What can I do for you now?' he offered half-heartedly.

'You could say there are possible new leads. Could we talk again?' Jack was not deterred by his attitude.

'I suppose so. What are these _new leads_?' he demanded.

'Well we have examined your laptop and found your correspondence with Mrs Munro. You told us she made the initial contact but that's not true, is it?'

'Come to think of it, no. I correspond with so many artists that I must have forgotten what happened with this one'

'But you said you were familiar with her music. What did you like about it and why did you invite her to Sainte-Marie?'

'I like all kinds of music and select artists I believe the people here will like. I simply thought Heather was a good candidate'.

'It must have cost you a fortune to bring her all the way over here from Scotland!' exclaimed Florence.

'Well, yes it did. But the ticket revenue and the bar sales and the CDs she left for our shops to sell, that generates revenue for the island. And it puts us on the map so to speak! Other artists will come of their own accord and the arts scene will thrive'

'I see' said Jack. 'There's just one more thing. We also found your appraisal for Claire on your laptop. It mentions that you had spoken to her about problems she has with her temper and aggressive tendencies. But when we spoke to her about this she denied that you had ever spoken about such things. Can you explain this?'

'I won't discuss staff performance with you'

'But you must see this is relevant to our case' said Florence. 'If she has aggressive tendencies could this not lead her to commit violent crime?'

Yes, I suppose it could' Herve agreed. 'I guess she realised this straight away and denied everything. But it's true. She has on several occasions been heard answering customers back in an unacceptable manner for simple things like complaints about prices, and sighing rudely when asked for a drink that takes effort to put together'

'OK, Mr Picard, thank you for your time' Jack concluded.

What did you make of Herve this time?' Jack asked Florence on the way back to the station.

'He seemed more defensive and passionate. I wasn't sure if that could mean we are onto something or if he is just fed up of being asked questions'

'Yes, you are right, it could be either. I also don't know what to think about Claire'

'It seems like they are anything but friends and ready to blame each other for their problems'

'I just wonder which of them is telling the truth about this appraisal business?'

'Yes, a strange one, isn't it?'

By afternoon the team had checked everything they possibly could several times over and still felt no further forward in resolving the case.

'Were all cupboards and lockers in the community centre checked thoroughly?' Jack asked Dwayne and J P.

'Yes, Sir. I checked all the lockers' answered J P.

'And I searched the sports equipment cupboard and the IT control room. Nothing there' added Dwayne.

'And what about the bins outside?'

'Checked. Thoroughly, absolutely' Dwayne insisted, fearing Jack would ask him to search them again.

'Anything come up in your notes, Florence?'

'Nothing' answered the Detective Sergeant forlornly.

Jack sat down at his desk, tired out from all his pacing, and brought up YouTube on his computer. He found a mix of Heather Munro's songs and the team took a break to listen to the tragic singer.

'It's so sad' said Florence. 'I really hope we can solve this murder soon'

'I know' said Dwayne. 'Her songs will live on though'

'They say you can tell a lot about people from their songs' commented J P.

'True' said Jack. 'This young woman clearly respected her Scottish culture as well as having a desire for world peace and justice…wait a minute!'

The rest of the team exchanged puzzled looks as Jack scrolled down to the comments at the bottom of the video. 'I remember she spoke about this person, and we were told…Florence can I see your notes a minute?'

'S-sure' she handed over her notepad.

'I think I may be on to something' Jack had come to life again. 'We just need to find the missing weapon and poison. You definitely checked the bins thoroughly Dwayne?'

'Oh yes, the private bins at the back of the Community centre were searched thoroughly, although I was surprised to find that the public bin on the street at the front had just been emptied when we checked it on Sunday morning'.

'Emptied? On a Sunday morning?' Florence looked puzzled. 'That's strange, the bins in Honore normally get emptied on a Monday. The refuse workers get the weekend off!'

'So where did the rubbish go?' puzzled Jack.

'Now that you mention it we met a fisherman on a boat during our search for the Buchanans yesterday who was involved in an unofficial waste disposal service' J P remembered.

'Really? And did he tell you who his customers were'

'No, he refused to tell us anything, but we did see one bag of this _rubbish_ '

'That's interesting. I think we need to pay this fisherman a visit, Florence. Dwayne, J P, I would like you to go to the library and do some research for me – here is the information to begin with' he wrote some details on a piece of paper.

With that the team sprang into action once again.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – The Revelation

By the end of the day the research was complete and newly found evidence had been sent to the lab on Guadeloupe. The following afternoon the analysis was complete and the relevant artefacts returned. All the suspects had been summoned to the community centre where they were greeted once again by the police team. Fidel and Dwayne brought Patrick into the centre in handcuffs while J P and Florence escorted Gemma. Jack carried a box containing all the evidence that was going to demonstrate who killed Heather Munro. Hervey and Claire had puzzled looks on their faces when they noticed George was missing.

'That's not all of us' stated Hervey.

'Yes it is' Jack filled them in. ' _George_ was in fact Detective Sergeant Fidel Best here who was on Sainte-Marie undercover investigating another crime'

'Ah, involving these people?' Claire stated the obvious as Patrick and Gemma were handcuffed to chairs.

'I can't discuss it I'm afraid' Fidel ended the discussion as Jack placed his box on a table.

'Alright, without further ado, I am going to reveal to you who murdered Heather Munro' Jack got down to business and all the suspects looked up nervously while the Detectives and Officers stood to the side. 'This was a difficult case. It was staged to look like a tragic accident whereby Mrs Munro had tripped and hit her head resulting in a fatal concussion. However, it was very obvious as soon as we examined the body that there was more to the story than that and it has been confirmed that Heather was in fact poisoned with carbolic acid before being hit over the head to hasten her death. Once the method was established we moved on to finding out who had done this and why. The most likely suspects appeared at first to be you two, Patrick and Gemma Buchanan, as you had admitted to knowing the victim personally and it turned out that your relationship had not been a friendly one. Heather was aware that you had been claiming other peoples' songs as your own and defrauding concert goers so you had a clear motive as your careers would likely be over if you were found out. Furthermore, our undercover detective had observed suspicious behaviour on the evening of the murder, in particular you, Gemma, not being seated and on your phone around the murder as you said you were'.

'But we really didn't do it! We may be fraudsters but not murderers!' protested Gemma. Jack ignored her and turned to Claire.

'But then we found some information that led us to suspect it could have been you, Claire'. Claire sat up and froze in fear at this. 'We learned that you had ambitions as a singer or actor and are bitterly jealous of those who have made it in the music business and resent having to be the barmaid. That may be circumstantial, however it turned out that your fingerprints were the last to appear on the CD player that was used to blast out music at a level that would supposedly drown out the sound of the victim screaming. And on top of that you were the one to find the body. Could you have had some margin of opportunity?' Claire gaped in horror. 'And finally, we found your latest staff appraisal on Herve's computer which suggested you have aggressive tendencies at work. That does not look good!'

'Please, you have to believe me. I would never do a thing like this!' Claire begged on the verge of tears.

'And lastly Herve, the respectable Arts Manager who did not have any apparent motive, the only notable points in your case appeared to be the fact that you forgot you had invited Heather Munro to come and perform in Sainte-Marie rather than the singer making contact with you, and the fact that you opened the community centre much earlier than usual and were reported to have been behaving in a more controlling manner than usual. That could be described as suspicious'

'But as I said, I deal with so many performers that I simply forgot what had happened in this case. And as for opening early, that was due to the fact we were having a very special guest from abroad that we had to impress!' Herve shrugged off the points raised, confidently assuming he was clear of any further suspicion.

'But it was you, wasn't it, Herve!'

'What!' Herve stood up and screamed in Jack's face. 'How could it have possibly been me?! I didn't even know her!'

'No, but you knew about her, didn't you?' Jack took on an assertive posture to counter Herve's.

'What do you mean?!'

'You know fine well what I mean. You are the nephew of Jacques Etienne, the sixties politician who opposed the progress made by Prime Minister Jeanne Richard and victimised her. My officers did some research and confirmed your relationship and also discovered that your Uncle's party sold a lot of spin to the islanders that is believed by many to this day, making Jacques seem like the innocent party and enhancing your family's reputation. But our victim, Heather Munro, an outsider, did her own research, just like we did, and discovered what really happened and wrote a song about it, which she sang at her concert on Saturday night'

Herve laughed 'Very good, Detective Inspector, but why would I invite her here to sing that song, a song full of lies, by the way, when it was bound to get more islanders against my Uncle?!'

'Well, that's just it, isn't it? You lured her here in order to murder her before she spread her _song full of lies_ any further. This was a pre-meditated murder!'

'OK I suppose I have a motive, but how does that make me different from these other suspects? You don't have any evidence that it was me who did it and not one of the others!'

'Oh yes we do' Jack walked over to his box and took out the waste disposal bag that Dwayne and J P had found during their harbour search. 'You appeared to be in luck when known enemies of Mrs Munro appeared on the island at the time of the murder as it was likely we would suspect them. Too bad that their criminal behaviour caused us to do a search of all the boats in the harbour and caused us to find this bag which I believe you will recognise?'

'I have never seen it before' insisted Herve.

'Oh really? Then why did the owner of the boat that you paid to dispose of it give your name when Detective Sergeant Cassell and I gave him an ultimatum yesterday? You see, this murder was very well thought out. Before you knew you had the Buchanans to blame you had decided to frame Claire here for Heather's murder' Claire gasped once again, having thought she had heard the worst already.

'You went to your office at the end of the concert, supposedly to count takings and ticket stubs, but what you really did was firstly use this to turn up the music' Jack took the remote control out of the waste bag. J P?'

The young officer took the remote control and went through to Herve's office, and when he got there he went to a small window that overlooked the hall and pressed a button which turned the CD player on. Music began to play and J P turned it up louder to demonstrate what had happened.

'You asked Claire to put the music on earlier in the evening as you knew her fingerprints would then be found on the main CD controls. You then left your office when nobody was looking and went to the dressing room with a _complimentary glass of champagne_ for Mrs Munro which you had added a high dose of medical carbolic acid to. The first aid kit, Dwayne?'

Dwayne opened the first aid kit that was on the wall at the back of the room and took out the offending bottle. Jack picked up the broken champagne flute.

'She drank from this and started to feel unwell. After vomiting you hit her on the head with this to finish the job' Jack produced the rolling pin. 'You did well adding different colours of paint to make it look like it was used for painting but the red paint is in fact blood, Heather Munro's blood. You then moved the body so that it would look like a pathetic attempt by a naïve young person to make a poisoning look like a tragic accident. But all three artefacts here have been tested by our lab and contain your finger prints, Herve Richard. You are therefore under arrest for the murder of Heather Munro. Take him away!'

'You have no idea!' Herve shouted as he was handcuffed by J P. 'What it is like to be related to someone in public office and have them disgraced. I couldn't let it happen to my family…'

'Come on now!' Jack helped J P to escort Herve to the Defender while Fidel, Dwayne and Florence attended to Patrick and Gemma.

Once outside, Claire looked on as all the others prepared to leave. Fidel come over to speak to her.

'What do you think you will do now?'

'I don't know. But I don't think I can work here anymore'

'I understand. You know, if you want to get away from Sainte-Marie, there are a lot of venues on St Lucia needing a helping hand, and there is also a very good arts school there if you wanted to get some better singing or acting lessons'

'Thank you, I will think about that'

'Get in touch with the St Lucia police if I can be of any help'

'That you, you are very kind'

'Well, all the best'

'Goodbye'


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – The Final Reunion

That evening, the atmosphere in Catherine's was very lively.

'It's so lovely to see you again…and know it's you now!' exclaimed Catherine, giving Fidel a big hug. I knew there was something familiar about you when you came in on Saturday!'

'I know – I was scared you would recognise me and blow my cover but it was going to be awkward not to come here when…when Heather…'

'I know. But justice will be done for her now thanks to all your hard work. Now, let me get all of you a beer on the house!'

'Now that's the kind of beer I like!' exclaimed Dwayne, getting agreement from Jack, J P and Florence.

'How's Camille?' Fidel asked Catherine.

'Oh, doing well at the undercover job in Paris. Loving it. But still not married or even seeing anyone though!'

'It'll happen when it happens'

'I suppose so. I would just love to be a grandma. Anyway, I'd better get back to the bar' Catherine walked off.

'Oh, we were speaking to Humphrey on Facetime just before we got the call about the murder' Dwayne informed Fidel. He's engaged!'

'Oh how lovely, I'm so happy for him!' said Fidel.

'He said he might even come to Sainte-Marie to get married or at least come for his honeymoon!' said Florence.

'Really? I'll have to organise my next trip back for that!...excuse me a minute, please' Fidel looked over to the far side of the bar and saw a forlorn-looking Siobhan setting out a dishwasher-tray of clean glasses behind the counter. She looked up pensively when he approached her.

'Um…hi George, I mean…Vidal?'

'Fidel'

'Right, sorry, Fidel'

'Anyway, I just wanted to say sorry if I hurt you…gave you the wrong idea…'

'Really, don't worry. I'll be fine' she said, putting on a brave smile and turning back to the glasses.

'No really, my behaviour was wrong. But I do think you're a great girl and I'm sure it won't be long 'til some good and lucky guy falls in love with you'

'Thanks…I guess'

Jack had gone to the bar to buy the next round of drinks.

'That's great news about Humphrey and Martha' Catherine commented.

'Yes indeed. I was just thinking we will have to arrange another conference call with them. Perhaps you would like to join us?'

'That would be lovely. In fact, I use my computer behind here to Skype my daughter. Perhaps it might stretch through to the bar to allow them to join the party tonight!'

'That's a lovely idea but I think it's about midnight in London. They will probably have gone to bed'

'I suppose you're right…but maybe we could try a quick call just in case?'

'I guess they'll either answer or not answer!'

'True. Would you mind attempting to move the computer? It's a bit heavy for me'

'Sure. I'll just take the drinks over to the others and get right on it'

Five minutes later Jack was so confident all the connections would remain in place that he was already pushing the computer while it was still switched on.

'Oops!' he shouted as the mouse slid off the small table. He caught it, accidently pressing an icon on the screen and another in the app that opened. Thirty seconds later an exhausted and bedraggled looking curly haired woman appeared on the screen, obviously having just been woken up.

'Allo, maman?...who are you?'

'Oh, I'm sorry. I'm…eh…Detective Inspector Jack Mooney'

'Detective Inspector…ah non, maman…h-has something happened?!' the woman panicked.

'Oh no, sorry. Camille, isn't it? Your mother is fine. I was just moving her computer for her and I accidently activated Skype. I am so sorry to have disturbed you – I guess it must be the middle of the night where you are?'

'Yes, it's almost one am here in Paris. But I'm relieved my mother is OK. I used to work as a Detective Sergeant on Sainte-Marie and there were so many murders!'

'I know, I've just solved one as it happens!'

'Camille, is that you?!' Catherine came through having heard her daughter's voice.

'Ah maman, good to see you'

'I'm so sorry Catherine, I called her by mistake. She was asleep'!

'Oh well, it's always wonderful to hear your voice. I see you and Jack, our latest Detective Inspector, have met?'

'Yes. Oh maman, I thought the worse when a Detective Inspector called!'

'You know me, I'm fine and there are always plenty loyal customers looking out for me, especially the police!'

'Of course, I should have remembered!'

'Well, before you go back to bed, would you like to say a quick hello to your former colleagues? There is a bit of a reunion happening!' Catherine suggested.

'Really? Then why wasn't I invited?' Camille pretended to be offended.

'It wasn't planned, honestly! Detective Sergeant Best was sent here under cover unknown to us!' Jack filled her in.

'Just like me a few years ago!...Wow! Fidel is now a Detective Sergeant? That's fantastic. Just let me get a dressing gown on and brush my hair a bit and I'll say a quick hello!'

'You look fine, cherie!' Catherine assured her.

Jack got the computer out while Camille got ready.

'What's this? Are we going to all talk to Humphrey and Martha again?' asked Florence.

'Let them join the party!' agreed Dwayne.

'Well, that was the original plan' said Jack, 'but due to a faux pas on my part someone else has ended up saying hello to us instead…'

'Oh? Who?' they all asked as the screen came to life again.

'Camille, how are you?' gasped Fidel. 'I was just asking after you!'

'Hello Fidel, I'm fine thank you. How are you? Congratulations on your promotion!'

'Thank you, it's been a couple of years now. And I'm well, thank you. How's Paris?'

'It's good, yes, challenging! Hello Dwayne, Florence, how are you all? I don't think we've met?' she looked at J P.

'Oh, this is J P. He joined us just after you left and I was promoted' Florence introduced them.

'Nice to meet you J P'

'Nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you'

'Good things I hope!'

'So, is there someone special in your life?' Dwayne smiled at Camille and raised his eyebrows.

'Oh no, not for some time. Work tends to take over'

'Well don't forget to have some time for yourself!' Florence told her.

'Now that's good advice!' Catherine hinted.

'I guess you would have worked with Humphrey Goodman?' Jack asked her.

Camille almost froze. 'Y-yes, we were partners for eighteen months, before I left the island. Um…how is he?'

'Oh fantastic!' said Dwayne. 'He's getting married!'

'That's…great!' There was a pensiveness in Camille's voice.

'Do you think you will come for the wedding?' asked Fidel. 'I'm hoping to!'

'I don't know…I'll see if I can get time off work'

'Well, I guess we'd better let you get back to sleep now. You'll have an early start in the morning, no doubt?' Catherine rescued her daughter at that point.

'Yes, I do. There's an ongoing case I'm working on and I have to be somewhere at 7am'

'Well it was good to talk to you and I'm sorry once again for waking you!' Jack concluded.

'Oh no worries and it was nice to meet you, and you J P, and to catch up with the rest of you. Good night!'

'Good night Camille' they all shouted.

'Bon nuit maman'

'Bon nuit' said Catherine, terminating the connection. Jack returned the computer to where it had been previously.

'Poor Camille seemed a bit taken aback when you told her about Humphrey' J P observed. 'Um…did they have history?' he whispered to his colleagues.

'Well…almost' said Florence.

'He had a crush on her for several months but was too afraid to tell her' Dwayne filled him in when Catherine had returned to the bar. 'By the time he did she had already accepted the job in Paris so nothing ever happened between them'

'I got the impression she maybe regrets her decision to leave him' observed Fidel.

'Hmm' they all wondered.

As Jack returned to his colleagues, Catherine put some lively ska music on and customers began to take to the floor for a dance. Fidel went over to the bar again.

'Listen Siobhan, I am leaving here tomorrow, but do you think we could dance, just once, and part as friends?'

'I suppose so!' she smiled and they got up together.

'Looks like I just got here on time!' the police table looked up to see Darlene making a surprise appearance and putting her arm around Dwayne.

'On time for what?' Dwayne looked sheepishly around his colleagues.

'Oh, you know well!' And with that Darlene dragged him up to the floor as Catherine re-appeared at the table.

'Remember when I let you stay with me when you didn't have a place to stay?' she addressed J P.

'Yes…?'

'Well, there's a tradition in this town where you thank you former landlady for her hospitality by asking her to dance!'

'Really?'

'Don't fall for it!' laughed Florence.

'Well that was a terrible joke!' laughed J P. 'But since you were such a fantastic landlady, and since you are still very kind to us all when we come in here…would you like to dance, madame?'

'Sure, thought you'd never ask!'

'Well…looks like that just leaves us' Jack turned to Florence.

'Yes, I suppose someone has to keep an eye on our colleagues up on the dance floor!'

'I guess so, but on the other hand…would you like to dance, Florence?'

'Hmm…OK!'

And with that the whole team and their friends began a relaxed and happy evening drinking and dancing and having a well-earned break from work.


End file.
